The Northern Fujiwara were a Japanese noble

Kuge

The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo...

 family

Japanese clans

This is a list of Japanese clans. The ancient clans mentioned in the Nihonshoki and Kojiki lost their political power before the Heian period. Instead of gozoku, new aristocracies, Kuge families emerged in the period...

 that ruled the Tōhoku region

Tohoku region

The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....

 (the northeast of Honshū

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

) of Japan from the 12th to the 13th centuries as if it were their own realm. They succeeded the semi-independent Emishi

Emishi

The constituted a group of people who lived in northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region. They are referred to as in contemporary sources. Some Emishi tribes resisted the rule of the Japanese Emperors during the late Nara and early Heian periods...

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

Minamoto clan

was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period , although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era. The Taira were another such offshoot of...

 loyal to the Imperial throne

Imperial Court in Kyoto

thumb|left|350px|Front view of Kyoto imperial palaceImperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji Era, in which the court was moved to Tokyo and integrated into the Meiji government....

 based in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

. Ultimately they were conquered by the Kantō samurai clans led by Minamoto no Yoritomo

Minamoto no Yoritomo

was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...

.

During the 12th Century, at the zenith of their rule, they attracted a number of artisans from Kyoto and created a capital city, Hiraizumi, in what is now Iwate prefecture

Iwate Prefecture

is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...

. 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

Ainu people

The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...

. They were able to keep their independence vis-a-vis Kyoto by the strength of their warrior bands until they were overwhelmed by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1189.

Below is a family tree of the Fujiwaras who show up most frequently in historical accounts.
　 　

　 　 Tsunekiyo

Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo

was a member of the martial Hidesato branch of the Fujiwaras and was the father of Fujiwara no Kiyohira, founder of the Northern Fujiwara dynasty in Japan. From the Japanese viewpoint he was considered a notorious traitor....

　（経清）
　　　　　┃
　 　 Kiyohira

Fujiwara no Kiyohira

was a samurai of mixed Japanese-Emishi parentage of the late Heian period , who was the founder of the Hiraizumi or Northern Fujiwara dynasty that ruled Northern Japan from about 1100 to 1189....

 (清衡)
　　　　　┣━━━━━━━━━━━┓
　 Koretsune　(惟常) Motohira (基衡)
　　　　　 ┃
　　　　 Hidehira

Fujiwara no Hidehira

was the third ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the grandson of Fujiwara no Kiyohira. During the Genpei War, he controlled his territory independently of the central government; however, he was the official imperial governor for Mutsu Province as of 1181. He offered shelter to...

 (秀衡)
　　　　　 ┃
　　　　　┏━━━━━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━┓
　　 Kunihira (国衡)　　 Yasuhira

Fujiwara no Yasuhira

was the fourth ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the second son of Hidehira. Against his father's will, he first hid Yoshitsune in escape but later killed him, fearing the possibility of Yoritomo's intervention...

 (泰衡)　　 Tadahira* (忠衡)　　 Takahira (高衡)
　　　　　　
*a.k.a. Izumi (no) Saburo

(Bold lines indicate natural kinship. Adopted kin are not shown.)