The Yamauchi clan (山内氏) were a family of rulers over what was then the

Tosa Province was a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Tosa bordered on Awa to the northeast, and Iyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syste ...

which spanned the southern half of Shikoku island. The province was given to the family in 1600 after

Yamauchi Kazutoyo , also spelled Yamanouchi (1545/1546? – November 1, 1605). He was retainer of Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi. His father Yamauchi Moritoyo, was a descendant of Fujiwara no Hidesato, a senior retainer of the Iwakura Oda clan (op ...

led troops under Tokugawa Ieyasu at the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

. The family stayed loyal to the Tokugawa dynasty until shortly before its overthrow in 1868. The head of the family at that time Yamauchi Toyoshige became prince of the newly formed Kōchi Prefecture under Imperial rule.

Notable members

Yamauchi Chiyo Yamauchi Chiyo (山内千代) or Kenshōin (見性院, 1557 – 1617) was a Japanese noble lady from the Sengoku period to the early of the Edo period. Known in history for her dedication and devotion to her family, she was vitally important to ...

* Yamauchi Toyoshige

References

Japanese clans Fujiwara clan {{Japan-hist-stub