Toshima clan
Encyclopedia
The was a Japanese
samurai
clan
prominent in the Kamakura
and Muromachi period
s of Japanese history in the northwest of what is today Tokyo
. The clan was based primarily in Shakujii castle
, in what is today Shakujii Park
in the town of Shakujii, in Nerima-ku, until the fall of the castle in the late 1470s to Ogigayatsu Uesugi clan
vassal Ōta Dōkan
.
), and expanded their influence over the years to cover a much wider area, delegating much of it to branch families such as the Miyagi, Takinogawa, Shimura, and Itabashi clans. The Toshima obtained and moved into Shakujii towards the end of the Kamakura period (1185-1333).
The clan's power and lineage solidified over the 13th-14th centuries. Though a number of clan heads had no direct male heir, for roughly one century from 1282 to 1395 the clan was supported by the Miyagi clan, with whom the Toshima shared territory and intermarried. Miyagi Tamenori was the son of Miyagi Masanori and a daughter of Toshima Shigehiro; Tamenori would in turn father 11th clan head Toshima Munetomo.
Following the death of ninth clan head Toshima Yasukage, on account of the minority of his son Toshima Tomoyasu, Yasukage's brother Toshima Kagemura took over as clan head. He expanded and solidified the clan's control over the districts of Toshima, Adachi, Tama, Niiza and Kodama. Toshima-san Dōjō-ji, which would later become the chief clan temple of the Toshima, was established in 1372 in a location adjacent to Shakujii castle by Kagemura's adopted son, Toshima Terutoki. Terutoki's birth father, Hōjō Tokiyuki
, was hidden and protected at Shakujii during the Nakasendai Rebellion (1335) by Toshima Kagemura; since Kagemura lacked a male heir, Terutoki was adopted to succeed him as clan head. He died in 1375, and when his son Toshima Kagenori died in turn, leaving no heir, the position of clan head passed to Toshima Munetomo; as described above, Munetomo was related to the Miyagi family, and was of a different branch of the Toshima clan from the previous clan heads.
Another temple strongly associated with the clan, Sanbō-ji, was established to the east of Shakujii castle in 1394. It is said to have been moved to its current location on the edge of Sanbō-ji Pond, one of two ponds which form the center of modern-day Shakujii Park, by Ōta Dōkan, following the destruction of the Toshima clan by his hand in the late 1470s.
Thirteenth clan head Toshima Noriyasu led the clan in siding with Uesugi Norimoto, general of Ashikaga Mochiuji
's forces, during the 1417 rebellion of Uesugi Zenshū
. In the political and military conflicts surrounding the Kyōtoku Incident
(1454-1482), the Toshima clan at first supported Ashikaga Shigeuji
, but later switched sides to support Uesugi Fusaaki and Uesugi Akisada
of the Yamanouchi branch of the Uesugi clan. During this time, Uesugi vassal Nagao Kageharu rebelled against the Uesugi clan and, along with the Ashikaga, sought to take control of the Kantō region. Toshima clan heads Toshima Yasutsune, lord of Shakujii and Nerima castles, and his brother Toshima Yasuaki, lord of Hiratsuka castle, sided with Kageharu, and were ultimately defeated by Uesugi vassal Ōta Dōkan, marking the demise of the clan.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
clan
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...
prominent in the Kamakura
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
and Muromachi period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
s of Japanese history in the northwest of what is today Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. The clan was based primarily in Shakujii castle
Shakujii castle
Shakujii castle was a Japanese castle located along the Shakujii River, in what is now Shakujii Park, in Tokyo's Nerima. The history of the inheritance of the feudal territory associated with it is the most clearly known of all territories in what is today Tokyo.The castle was strategically placed...
, in what is today Shakujii Park
Shakujii Park
Shakujii Park is a public park in the Japanese town of Shakujii, in Tokyo's Nerima ward. Established in 1959, it is one of the larger parks in the metropolis, after Ueno Park...
in the town of Shakujii, in Nerima-ku, until the fall of the castle in the late 1470s to Ogigayatsu Uesugi clan
Uesugi clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from the Fujiwara clan and particularly notable for their power in the Muromachi and Sengoku periods ....
vassal Ōta Dōkan
Ota Dokan
, also known as Ōta Sukenaga or Ōta Dōkan Sukenaga, was a Japanese samurai warrior-poet, military tactician and Buddhist monk. Ōta Sukenaga took the tonsure as a Buddhist priest in 1478, and he also adopted the Buddhist name, Dōkan, by which is known today...
.
History
The clan made its chief seat of governance in the area around the Hiratsuka Shrine in what is today the Nakazato area of Tokyo's North Ward (Kita-kuKita, Tokyo
is one of the special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself the City of Kita .As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 332,140 and a population density of 16,140 persons per km². The total area is 20.59 km².-Geography:...
), and expanded their influence over the years to cover a much wider area, delegating much of it to branch families such as the Miyagi, Takinogawa, Shimura, and Itabashi clans. The Toshima obtained and moved into Shakujii towards the end of the Kamakura period (1185-1333).
The clan's power and lineage solidified over the 13th-14th centuries. Though a number of clan heads had no direct male heir, for roughly one century from 1282 to 1395 the clan was supported by the Miyagi clan, with whom the Toshima shared territory and intermarried. Miyagi Tamenori was the son of Miyagi Masanori and a daughter of Toshima Shigehiro; Tamenori would in turn father 11th clan head Toshima Munetomo.
Following the death of ninth clan head Toshima Yasukage, on account of the minority of his son Toshima Tomoyasu, Yasukage's brother Toshima Kagemura took over as clan head. He expanded and solidified the clan's control over the districts of Toshima, Adachi, Tama, Niiza and Kodama. Toshima-san Dōjō-ji, which would later become the chief clan temple of the Toshima, was established in 1372 in a location adjacent to Shakujii castle by Kagemura's adopted son, Toshima Terutoki. Terutoki's birth father, Hōjō Tokiyuki
Hojo Tokiyuki
was a samurai of the Hōjō clan who fought both for and against the Imperial Court. His father was Hōjō Takatoki, last Regent and de facto ruler of the Kamakura shogunate....
, was hidden and protected at Shakujii during the Nakasendai Rebellion (1335) by Toshima Kagemura; since Kagemura lacked a male heir, Terutoki was adopted to succeed him as clan head. He died in 1375, and when his son Toshima Kagenori died in turn, leaving no heir, the position of clan head passed to Toshima Munetomo; as described above, Munetomo was related to the Miyagi family, and was of a different branch of the Toshima clan from the previous clan heads.
Another temple strongly associated with the clan, Sanbō-ji, was established to the east of Shakujii castle in 1394. It is said to have been moved to its current location on the edge of Sanbō-ji Pond, one of two ponds which form the center of modern-day Shakujii Park, by Ōta Dōkan, following the destruction of the Toshima clan by his hand in the late 1470s.
Thirteenth clan head Toshima Noriyasu led the clan in siding with Uesugi Norimoto, general of Ashikaga Mochiuji
Ashikaga Mochiuji
Ashikaga Mochiuji was the Kamakura-fu's fourth Kantō kubō during the Sengoku period in Japan. During his long and troubled rule the relationship between the west and the east of the country reached an all-time low. Kamakura was finally attacked by shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori and retaken by force...
's forces, during the 1417 rebellion of Uesugi Zenshū
Uesugi Zenshu
, also known as Uesugi Ujinori, was the chief advisor to Ashikaga Mochiuji, an enemy of the Ashikaga shogunate in feudal Japan. When he was rebuked by Mochiuji in 1415, and forced to resign, Zenshū organized a rebellion....
. In the political and military conflicts surrounding the Kyōtoku Incident
Kyotoku Incident
The Kyōtoku Incident was a long series of skirmishes and conflicts fought for control of the Kantō region of Japan in the 15th century. The conflict began in 1454 with the assassination of Uesugi Noritada by Kantō kubō Ashikaga Shigeuji. The Ashikaga, Uesugi, and other clans then leapt to battle,...
(1454-1482), the Toshima clan at first supported Ashikaga Shigeuji
Ashikaga Shigeuji
was a Muromachi period warrior and the Kamakura-fu's fifth and last Kantō Kubō . Fourth son of fourth Kubō Ashikaga Mochiuji, he succeeded his father only in 1449, a full decade after his death by seppuku. His childhood name was...
, but later switched sides to support Uesugi Fusaaki and Uesugi Akisada
Uesugi Akisada
was a samurai of the Uesugi clan, Kantō Kanrei and shugo of Kōzuke and Musashi Province. His loss of the Izu Province to Hōjō Sōun in 1492–1498 marked a significant development of Japan's Sengoku period....
of the Yamanouchi branch of the Uesugi clan. During this time, Uesugi vassal Nagao Kageharu rebelled against the Uesugi clan and, along with the Ashikaga, sought to take control of the Kantō region. Toshima clan heads Toshima Yasutsune, lord of Shakujii and Nerima castles, and his brother Toshima Yasuaki, lord of Hiratsuka castle, sided with Kageharu, and were ultimately defeated by Uesugi vassal Ōta Dōkan, marking the demise of the clan.
Clan heads
- Taketsune
- Tsuneie
- Yasuie
- Kiyomitsu (Kiyomoto)
- Tomotsune
- Aritsune
- Tsuneyasu
- Yasutomo
- Yasukage
- Tomoyasu
- Munetomo
- Yasumune
- Noriyasu
- Tomoyasu
- Yasukage
- Yasuyoshi (Yasunori?)
- Nobuyasu
- Tsunesuke?
- Yasuaki & Yasutsune