The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

that ruled the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku reta ...

(the northeast of

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island sepa ...

) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.Esashi Fujiwara no Sato
(in English) The Ōshū Fujiwara were one of the four great clans during 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 Japan ...

— the other three were the

Minamoto was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...

, the

Taira The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided ...

, and the Tachibana. They succeeded the semi-independent

Emishi The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean " shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contem ...

families of the 11th century who were gradually brought down by the

Minamoto clan was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during th ...

loyal to the Imperial Court in Kyoto. They ruled over an independent region that derived its wealth from gold mining, horse trading and as middlemen in the trade in luxury items from continental Asian states and from the far northern Emishi and

Ainu people The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arrival of the Ya ...

. They were able to keep their independence vis-a-vis Kyoto by the strength of their warrior bands until they were ultimately conquered by the Kantō samurai clans led by

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

, in the Battle of Ōshū in 1189.

Origins

Historically, there has been a theory that the Northern Fujiwara descended from the ethnic Emishi people, but in terms of genealogy, they were descended from

Fujiwara no Hidesato , was a ''kuge'' (court noble) of tenth century Heian period Japan. He is famous for his military exploits and courage and is regarded as the common ancestor of numerous clans, including the Ōshū branch of the Fujiwara clan. Hidesato served u ...

. Fujiwara no Kiyohira was raised as a member of the

Seiwa Genji The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto no Yoshiie, Minamoto no Yoritomo, the f ...

(a lineage of the Minamoto clan) as his mother remarried into a Seiwa Genji family in

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early per ...

. However, Kiyohira, along with

Minamoto no Yoshiie Minamoto No Yoshiie (源義家; 1039 – 4 August 1106), also known as Hachimantarō, was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' (Commander-in-chief of the defense of the North). The first son of Minamoto ...

, became independent and established themselves in Hiraizumi (in present-day

Iwate Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefectu ...

) in 1087.

History

After its foundation by Fujiwara no Kiyohira in 1087, the Northern Fujiwara clan ruled the Mutsu and Dewa Province for over a century. Along with Kiyohira, the next two generations of Fujiwara no Motohira and Hidehira saw the zenith of Northern Fujiwara's power in the Tōhoku region. At the zenith of their rule, they attracted a number of artisans from

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

and created a capital city, Hiraizumi. They introduced the Kyoto culture into the area and built many temples, such as the

Chūson-ji is a Buddhist temple in the town of Hiraizumi in southern Iwate Prefecture, Japan. It is the head temple of the Tendai sect in Tōhoku region of northern Honshu. The temple claims it was founded in 850 by Ennin, the third chief abbot of the sect ...

founded in 1095. During the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himse ...

(1180-1185), fought between the

and the

Taira clan The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divide ...

, the Northern Fujiwara remained neutral and did not participate in the war. A conflict erupted between

and the Northern Fujiwara over the extradition of

Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo conso ...

, who had fled to Hiraizumi. Hidehira had remained neutral during the Genpei War, but when Yoshitsune took refuge in Hiraizumi, he decided to protect him. Hidehira, who had protected Yoshitsune, soon died and his son

Fujiwara no Yasuhira was the fourth ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the second son of Hidehira. At first protecting Yoshitsune, according to his father's will, he was finally forced by Minamoto no Yoritomo to attack Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune, rat ...

succeeded his father as the 4th head of the Northern Fujiwara clan. Yasuhira failed to resist Minamoto no Yoritomo's pressure, and had Yoshitsune assassinated. After Yoshitsune was assassinated in April 1189, his severed head was delivered to

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

by July for Yoritomo to see. However, Yoritomo was already set about attacking Hiraizumi and this had no effect to fix the damaged relations. On September 1, 1198, 284,000

cavalrymen Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating a ...

led by Yoritomo set out to attack Hiraizumi. Yasuhira prepared himself an army of 170,000 cavalrymen to defend his realm. Thus, the Battle of Ōshū began. Yasuhira's forces were defeated one after another, and on October 2, he fled Hiraizumi leaving it afire. Yoritomo entered Hiraizumi the next day. Yasuhira was found and killed in Nienosaku, Hinai, Mutsu Province (present-day Ōdate,

Akita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its geographic area is 11,6 ...

) on October 14. The Battle of Ōshū resulted in the destruction of the Northern Fujiwara. This marked the end of the period of civil war that began in 1180, and the completion of Yoritomo's nationwide domination and the establishment of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no ...

Notable members

Below is a family tree of the Fujiwaras who show up most frequently in historical accounts. 　　 *a.k.a. Izumi (no) Saburo (Adopted kin are not shown.)

References

*Hudson, Mark J.. 1999. “Ainu Ethnogenesis and the Northern Fujiwara”. Arctic Anthropology 36 (1/2). University of Wisconsin Press: 73–83. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40316506. * Tōhoku region 12th century in Japan Rikuchu Province {{Japan-hist-stub

Origins

History

Notable members

See also

References