was a Japanese kin group which traces its origin to

Hizen Province was an old province of Japan in the area of the Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō. It did not incl ...

on the island of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)
"Hōki"
in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 802.

History

The clan was founded by Fujiwara no Suekiyo in 1186. The clan was allied with

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Murom ...

in 1336, but they were defeated in fighting with the

Ōtomo clan was a Japanese samurai family whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū. Origins The first family head, Ōtomo Yoshinao (1172–1223), took ...

to the east and

Shimazu clan The were the '' daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in cont ...

to the south.

Ryūzōji Takanobu is known for expanding his clan's holdings. He took land from the

Shōni clan was a family of Japanese nobles descended from the Fujiwara family, many of whom held high government offices in Kyūshū. Prior to the Kamakura period (1185–1333), "Shōni" was originally a title and post within the Kyūshū ( Dazaifu) gover ...

. Ryūzōji Masaie (1556–1607) was the son of Takanobu. In 1587, Masaie joined the forces of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

against the

. In the same year, he was confirmed as head of the Saga Domain (350,000 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

''), but control of the domain passed to

Nabeshima Naoshige was a warlord of the Sengoku and early Edo periods and progenitor of the Nabeshima lords of the Saga Domain. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Nabeshima Naoshige"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 680. Naoshige was the second son of . His mothe ...

Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)
"Ryūzōji",_''Nobiliare_du_Japon'',_p._50_[PDF_54_of_80
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="DF 54 of 80">"Ryūzōji", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 50 [PDF 54 of 80
/nowiki>">DF 54 of 80">"Ryūzōji", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 50 [PDF 54 of 80
/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-2. when Masaie was killed in battle.

Notable clan leaders

* Ryūzōji Chikaie * Ryūzōji Takanobu * Ryūzōji Masaie *

Egami Ietane Egami (written: 江上, 繪上, etc.) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese synchronized swimmer *, Japanese karateka {{surname Japanese-language surnames ...

* Gotō Ienobu * Ryūzōji Naganobu * Ryūzōji Nobuchika

Notable retainers

Arima Harunobu was a Japanese samurai lord who was the daimyō, daimyo of Shimabara Domain and the head of the Hizen-Arima clan''.'' In his early years, he was a retainer of Ryūzōji clan. Biography Harunobu was born in Hinoe Castle, the Hizen-Arima clan, Ar ...

Matsura Takanobu or Taqua Nombo was a 16th-century Japanese samurai and 25th hereditary lord of the Matsura clan of Hirado. He was one of the most powerful feudal lords of Kyūshū and one of the first to allow trading with Europeans, particularly the Portug ...

* Ōmura Sumitada * Gotō Takaakira *

Miyohime Miyohime (美代姫) or Enkyū Myōgetsu (圓久妙月) was a Japanese Onna-musha from the late- Sengoku period. She was a retainer of Ryūzōji clan. After her husband and Ryūzōji Takanobu were slain in the Battle of Okitanawate, she became the ...

Hyakutake Tomonake Hyakutake may refer to: Astronomy * Comet Hyakutake, a comet discovered in 1996 People * Gengo Hyakutake (1882–1976), Imperial Japanese Navy admiral * Harukichi Hyakutake (1888–1947), Imperial Japanese Army general * Saburō Hyakutake (18 ...

married to

* Kinoshita Masanao * Narimatsu Nobukatsu * Enjōji Nobutane * Eriguchi Nobutsuna * Harada Nobutane * Naritomi Shigeyasu * Ogawa Nobuyasu

References

Bibliography

* 佐賀新聞社 (2006/12).『五州二島の太守龍造寺隆信』.

External links

龍造寺氏 on Harimaya.com

Naritomi Shigeyasu on Samurai-Archives.com
Japanese clans {{Japan-clan-stub