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

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

(the northeast of

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.Esashi Fujiwara no Sato
(in English) They succeeded the semi-independent

Emishi The were a group of people who lived in parts of northern Honshū in present-day Japan, especially in the Tōhoku region. The first mention of the Emishi in literature that can be corroborated with outside sources dates to the 5th century AD, ...

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

Minamoto clan was a Aristocracy (class), noble surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the Imperial House of Japan, imperial family who were excluded from the List of emperors of Japan, line of succession and demoted into the ranks of Nobili ...

loyal to the

Imperial Court in Kyoto The Imperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji period (1868–1912), after which the court was moved from Kyoto (formerly Heian-kyō) to Tokyo (formerly Edo) and integrated into the Meiji go ...

. 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 an Indigenous peoples, indigenous ethnic group who reside in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region of Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Ku ...

. 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, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

, in the

Battle of Ōshū The Battle of Ōshū (奥州合戦, ''Ōshū-kassen'') was a major battle between the Kamakura government and the Northern Fujiwara that took place in the Tōhoku region of Japan from September 1 to October 14, 1189. It resulted in the downfall ...

in 1189.

Origins

Historically, there has been a theory that the Northern Fujiwara descended from the ethnic

Emishi people The were a group of people who lived in parts of northern Honshū in present-day Japan, especially in the Tōhoku region. The first mention of the Emishi in literature that can be corroborated with outside sources dates to the 5th century AD, ...

, but in terms of genealogy, they were descended from

Fujiwara no Hidesato was a Japanese aristocrat, courtier, folk hero and samurai lord of the tenth century in the Heian period. He is famous for his military exploits and courage, and is regarded as the common ancestor of numerous clans, including the Ōshū branch ...

Fujiwara no Kiyohira was a samurai of mixed Japanese- Emishi parentage of the late Heian period (794–1185), who was the founder of the Hiraizumi or Northern Fujiwara dynasty that ruled Northern Japan from about 1100 to 1189. Biography Kiyohira was the son of Fuj ...

, after his father's death, was raised as a member of the Kiyohara clan as his mother remarried into a Kiyohara 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, with the aid of

Minamoto no Yoshiie , also known as and his title , 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 no Yoriyoshi, he proved himself in battle with the Ab ...

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

Iwate Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

) in 1087, when he won the victory in the

Gosannen War The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, ''gosannen kassen''), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū. History The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power ...

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 was the second ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the son of Fujiwara no Kiyohira and the father of Fujiwara no Hidehira. Fujiwara no Motohira is credited with expansion of Hiraizumi, Iwate, Hiraizumi, the residence of Northern ...

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 imperial capital

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

and created a capital city, Hiraizumi. They introduced the Kyoto and Heian 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 se ...

founded in 1095. During the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira clan, Taira and Minamoto clan, 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 Yori ...

(1180-1185), fought between the

and the

Taira clan The was one of the four most important Japanese clans, clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period, Heian period of History of Japan, Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto clan, Minamoto, the Fujiwara clan, Fuji ...

, the Northern Fujiwara remained neutral. A conflict erupted between lord

and the Northern Fujiwara clan over the extradition of

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

, younger brother and former general of Yoritomo, 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, ra ...

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 , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

by July for Yoritomo to see. However, Yoritomo was already set on attacking Hiraizumi and this did nothing to repair their damaged relations. On September 1, 1189, 284,000

cavalrymen Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mobile of the comb ...

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 is a city in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 67,865 in 31,433 households, and a population density of 75 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ōdate is located in the mountains of norther ...

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is estimated 915,691 as of 1 August 2023 and its geographi ...

) on October 14. The Battle of Ōshū resulted in the destruction of the Northern Fujiwara clan. This marked the end of the tumultuous 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 Yori ...

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