Hosokawa clan


The Hosokawa clan was a Japanese samurai kin group or clan.

Ancestors

  1. Emperor Jimmu
  2. Emperor Suizei
  3. Emperor Annei
  4. Emperor Itoku
  5. Emperor Kōshō
  6. Emperor Kōan
  7. Emperor Kōrei
  8. Emperor Kōgen
  9. Emperor Kaika
  10. Emperor Sujin
  11. Emperor Suinin
  12. Emperor Keikō
  13. Yamato Takeru
  14. Emperor Chūai
  15. Emperor Ōjin
  16. Wakanuke Futamata no Kimi
  17. Ohohoto no Kimi
  18. Ohi no Kimi
  19. Ushi no Kimi
  20. Emperor Keitai
  21. Emperor Kinmei
  22. Emperor Bidatsu
  23. Prince Oshisaka
  24. Emperor Jomei
  25. Emperor Tenji
  26. Prince Shiki
  27. Emperor Kōnin
  28. Emperor Kanmu
  29. Emperor Saga
  30. Emperor Ninmyō
  31. Emperor Montoku
  32. Emperor Seiwa
  33. Prince Sadazumi
  34. Minamoto no Tsunemoto
  35. Minamoto no Mitsunaka
  36. Minamoto no Yorinobu
  37. Minamoto no Yoriyoshi
  38. Minamoto no Yoshiie
  39. Minamoto no Yoshikuni
  40. Minamoto no Yoshiyasu
  41. Minamoto no Yoshikiyo
  42. Ashikaga Yoshizane
  43. Hosokawa Yoshisue

    History

The clan was descended from the Seiwa Genji, a branch of the Minamoto clan, and ultimately from Emperor Seiwa himself, through the Ashikaga clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate's administration. In the Edo period, the Hosokawa clan was one of the largest landholding daimyō families in Japan. In the present day, the current clan head Morihiro Hosokawa, has served as Prime Minister of Japan.

Muromachi and Sengoku eras

, son of Ashikaga Yoshizane, was the first to take the name of Hosokawa. Hosokawa Yoriharu, a Hosokawa of the late Kamakura period, fought for the Ashikaga clan against the Kamakura shogunate. Another, Hosokawa Akiuji, helped establish the Ashikaga shogunate.
The clan wielded significant power over the course of the Muromachi, Sengoku, and Edo periods, moving, however, from Shikoku, to Kinai, and then to Kyūshū over the centuries.
The clan was also one of three families to dominate the post of Kanrei, under the Ashikaga shogunate. One such individual was Hosokawa Yoriyuki. At the beginning of the Ashikaga's rule, the Hosokawa were given control of the entirety of Shikoku. Over the course of this period, members of the Hosokawa clan were Constables of Awa, Awaji, Bitchū, Izumi, Sanuki, Settsu, Tanba, Tosa, and Yamashiro Provinces.
, retainer of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi
A conflict between Hosokawa Katsumoto, the fifth Kanrei, and his father-in-law Yamana Sōzen, over the shogunate's succession, sparked the Ōnin War, which led to the fall of the shogunate and a period of 150 years of chaos and war, known as the Sengoku period. Following the fall of the Ashikaga shogunate, which was based in Kyoto, control of the city, and thus ostensibly the country, fell into the hands of the Hosokawa clan for a few generations.
Katsumoto's son, Hosokawa Masamoto, held power in this way at the end of the 15th century, but was assassinated in 1507. After his death, the clan became divided and was weakened by internecine fighting. What power they still had, however, was centered in and around Kyoto. This gave them the leverage to consolidate their power to some extent, and came to be strong rivals with the Ōuchi clan, both politically, and in terms of dominating trade with China. The Hosokawa remained in Kyoto for roughly one hundred years, fleeing the city when it was attacked by Oda Nobunaga. Another division of the clan whom many have believe had extinct is the Saikyū clan.

Edo period

The Hosokawa of Kokura became the "main" line of the Hosokawa clan during the Edo period. Hosokawa Gracia, the wife of Hosokawa Tadaoki, was one of the most famous samurai converts to Christianity; she was also the daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide.
The Hosokawa sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu against Ishida Mitsunari during the decisive Sekigahara Campaign, and thus were made fudai daimyō under the Tokugawa shogunate. They were given Higo Province, with an income of 540,000 koku, as their han.
Hosokawa Tadatoshi, the third lord of Kumamoto, was the patron of the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.
Though the Hosokawa domain was far from the capital, on Kyūshū, they were among the wealthiest of the daimyōs. By 1750, Higo was one of the top producers of rice, and was in fact counted as a standard by the Osaka rice brokers. The domain suffered from serious economic decline after that, as most domains did, but the sixth lord, Hosokawa Shigekata instituted a number of reforms which turned the situation around. He also founded a Han school, Jishūkan, in 1755.
In later years, it produced many scholars such as Yokoi Shōnan.
In 1787, the main family line descended from Tadatoshi became extinct with the death of the 7th lord, Shigekata's son Harutoshi. He was succeeded by his distant cousin Narishige, the sixth Lord of Udo a direct descendant of Tadatoshi's younger brother Yukitaka. In 1810, Narishige abdicated his title in favor of his elder son Naritatsu, who succeeded as the ninth lord of Kumamoto. Naritatsu died without an heir in 1826, and was succeeded by his nephew Narimori, the son of Naritatsu's younger brother Tatsuyuki, who was the seventh lord of Udo.
Following the death of Narimori in 1860, his elder son Yoshikuni succeeded him as the eleventh and final ruling lord of Kumamoto.
There were four major branches of the Hosokawa clan in the Edo period, each of which held the title of daimyō. Another two branches of the family, under the Nagaoka surname, served the Hosokawa of Kumamoto as karō. The residence of one of those families, Hosokawa Gyōbu mansion, is still extant, and is a Tangible Cultural Property of Kumamoto Prefecture.

Boshin War

During the Boshin War of 1868–69, the Hosokawa of Kumamoto, Kumamoto-Shinden, and Udo sided with the imperial government. Its forces took part in the Battle of Aizu and the Battle of Hakodate, among others.

Meiji and beyond

Following the abolition of the feudal class in 1871, the Hosokawa clan and its branches were made part of the new nobility in the Meiji era. The head of the main family line was given the hereditary title of marquis, while the heads of the secondary branches became viscounts ; the titles became obsolete in 1947. The present head of the main family line, Morihiro Hosokawa, former Prime Minister of Japan, is a descendant of the Hosokawa of Kumamoto.

Key Genealogies

Main Branch

  1. Hosokawa Yoshisue
  2. Hosokawa Akiuji
  3. Hosokawa Kimiyori
  4. Hosokawa Kazuuji
  5. Hosokawa Kiyouji
  6. Hosokawa Yoriyuki
  7. Hosokawa Yorimoto
  8. Hosokawa Mitsumoto
  9. Hosokawa Mochimoto
  10. Hosokawa Mochiyuki
  11. Hosokawa Katsumoto
  12. Hosokawa Masamoto
  13. Hosokawa Sumiyuki
  14. Hosokawa Sumimoto
  15. Hosokawa Takakuni
  16. Hosokawa Tanekuni
  17. Hosokawa Harumoto
  18. Hosokawa Ujitsuna
  19. Hosokawa Akimoto
  20. Hosokawa Motokatsu
  21. Hosokawa Yoshimoto
Kumamoto
  1. Hosokawa Fujitaka
  2. Hosokawa Tadaoki
  3. Hosokawa Tadatoshi
  4. Hosokawa Mitsunao
  5. Hosokawa Tsunatoshi
  6. Hosokawa Nobunori
  7. Hosokawa Munetaka
  8. Hosokawa Shigekata
  9. Hosokawa Harutoshi
  10. Hosokawa Narishige
  11. Hosokawa Naritatsu
  12. Hosokawa Narimori
  13. Hosokawa Yoshikuni – Last ruling Lord of Kumamoto
  14. Hosokawa Morihisa, 1st Marquis
  15. Hosokawa Morishige, 2nd Marquis
  16. Hosokawa Moritatsu, 3rd Marquis
  17. Hosokawa Morisada, titular 5th Marquis
  18. Morihiro Hosokawa, titular 6th Marquis
  19. Morimitsu Hosokawa, heir

    Branches

Kumamoto-Shinden
Udo
Hitachi-Yatabe