The was a clan of
samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
of
Medieval Japan
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when ...
of the province of
Hizen descended from
Fujiwara no Sumitomo (died 941). The clan is notable for being the first ''
daimyo
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally to ...
'' family in Japan to
convert to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person that brings about changes in what sociologists refer to as the convert's "root reality" including their social behaviors, thinking and ethics. The sociol ...
in 1562.
Notable clan members
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Ōmura Tadazumi () An eighth-generation descendant of Sumimoto, he was the first to take the surname Ōmura, named after a village in Hizen Province where he lived.
*
Ōmura Sumitada (; 1532–1587) son of
Arima Haruzumi, was chosen to succeed Ōmura Sumiaki. Baptized in 1562 with the name ''Bartholomew'' he was the first
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...
to remain faithful to the religion until his death. It was he who in 1568 opened the port of Fukae to foreign trade, which later became the city of
Nagasaki
, officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...
.
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Ōmura Yoshiaki
was a ruling head of the clan of Ōmura clan, Ōmura throughout the latter Sengoku period of Feudal Japan. As Yoshiaki was the respective son of Ōmura Sumitada, he followed his father in succession at some variable time, at which relations wit ...
(; 1568–1615) son of Sumitada, he was also a Christian and received the name ''Sanche''. In 1600, he remained neutral during the
Sekigahara Campaign
The Sekigahara Campaign was a series of battles in Japan fought between the Eastern Army aligned with Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Western Army loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, culminating in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. The conflict was sparked by a ...
and had to pass his own domain to his son. He spent the rest of his life in debauchery.
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Ōmura Sumiyori
was the second lord of the Ōmura Domain in Hizen Province. He is the grandson of Ōmura Sumitada.
Lifetime
In (CE 1592), as the eldest son of Ōmura Kizen, a daimyo (later the first lord of the Omura domain) under the Toyotomi regime, Born ...
(; 1592–1619) son of Yoshiaki. He was baptized and received the name '' Bartholomew '', like his grandfather. However towards the end of his life he persecuted the Christians of his fiefdom.
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Ōmura Sumihiro (; 1831–1882) received the title of ''
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
'' after the
abolition of the han system
The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...
.
Note
See also
*
Ōmura Domain
was a Japanese Han (Japan), domain of the Edo period. It was centered around Kushima Castle in what is now the city of Ōmura, Nagasaki and was ruled by the ''tozama daimyō'' Ōmura clan for all of its history.
History
The lineage of the ...
Externial connections
*
* {{cite web, url=https://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?, title=Omura clan, language=en, archivedate=August 11, 2016, accessdate=August 11, 2016, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811125740/http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Omura_clan
Japanese clans