The Tajihi clan (多治比氏 ''Tajihi-uji''; also written as 多治, 丹比, 丹治, 丹墀) was a Japanese noble family. They were most prominent in the early

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

, when they furnished several senior officers of the central government, before they were gradually driven out of the centre of power by the rival

Fujiwara clan was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

Name

The name of the Tajihi clan can be written with various combinations of

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

, including 多治比, 多治, 丹比, 丹治, and 丹墀. The clan were descendants of Prince Tajihiko, who, according to tradition, was named for the ''tajihi'' (多治比,

Japanese knotweed ''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...

) blossoms that were blown by at the time of his birth, but it seems more likely that the clan were name for Tajihi District (丹比郡) in

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawachi ...

History

The Tajihi clan's ancestor Prince Tajihiko was a great-grandson of the sixth-century

Emperor Senka (467 — 15 March 539) was the 28th legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 宣化天皇 (28)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but ...

through his son Prince Kamueha. Their imperial ancestry categorizes them as one of the ''kōbetsu'' (皇別) clans, descended from the

Japanese imperial family The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...

. The clan's original ''

kabane were Japanese hereditary noble titles. Their use traces back to ancient times when they began to be used as titles signifying a family's political and social status. History As the national unification by the Yamato imperial court progressed ...

'' was ''Kimi'' (公), but were given the title '' Mahito'' (or ''Mabito'') by

Emperor Tenmu was the 40th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. Tenmu's re ...

in 684. , who served at the courts of Emperor Tenmu,

Empress Jitō was the 41st monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 持統天皇 (41)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). In the history o ...

and

Emperor Monmu was the 42nd emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 文武天皇 (42) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Monmu's reign spanned the years from 697 through 707. Traditional narrative Befo ...

, rose to the prestigious rank of

Minister of the Left The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the ini ...

. His sons Ikemori (多治比池守), Agatamori (多治比県守), Hironari (多治比広成), Hirotari (多治比広足) held various key positions at court, including ''

dainagon was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...

'' and ''

chūnagon was a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705. This advisory position remained a part of the I ...

''. Tajihi no Mamune (多治比真宗, 769–823), a great-granddaughter of Ikemori, served as a consort of

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...

. Until the middle of the

the Tajihi were one of the clans at the pinnacle of court society, but after this time became increasingly overshadowed by the

. Around the start of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

the Tajihi clan mostly disappeared from the court society. The , a group of warriors in

Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, S ...

and one of the so-called , were remote descendants of the Tajihi clan who took up martial ways.

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tajihi clan Japanese clans