This is a list ofJapanese clans. The old clans (gōzoku) mentioned in theNihon Shoki andKojiki lost their political power before theHeian period, during which new aristocracies and families,kuge, emerged in their place. After the Heian period, thesamurai warrior clans gradually increased in importance and power until they came to dominate the country after the founding of the firstshogunate.
Japan traditionally practicedcognatic primogeniture, or male-lineinheritance in regard to passing down titles and estates. By allowingadult adoption, or for men to take their wife's name and be adopted into her family served as a means to pass down an estate to a family without any sons, Japan has managed to retain continuous family leadership for many of the below clans, theroyal family, and even ordinaryfamily businesses.[1][2]
The ability for Japanese families to track theirlineage over successive generations plays a far more important role than simply having the same name as another family, as many commoners did not use a familyname prior to theMeiji Restoration, and many simply adopted (名字,myōji) the name of the lord of their village, or the name of their domain, and may not necessarily have been a retainer to the clan. Other clan names are based on common geographic features or other arbitrary words that didn't necessarily indicate clan membership.[3]
Map showing the territories of majordaimyō families around 1570
Many families also adopted sons from other families or married their daughters into other families to cement ties with a larger kin group outside of those with the same name as the main family line, calledkeibatsu (閨閥,lit.bedroomclique), a clan or family relationship built around both blood and maternal relations.Tokugawa Ieyasu himself had adopted two dozen children of allies in addition to his 16 acknowledged children.[4]
The Meiji Restoration sought to dismantle the clan structure, giving clan leaders titles ofnobility to inspire loyalty to the emperor rather than individual clans. However those familial relationships built over multiple generations still maintained their ties, first asmonbatsu, then with industrialization, evolved into the pre-warzaibatsu, which were formed by these same inter-clan relationships. With the abolishment of thekazoku in 1947, they reverted to their unofficialkeibatsu, and elements of which can be seen today in political families such as theSatō–Kishi–Abe family, with family ties to MarquessInoue Kaoru, ViscountŌshima Yoshimasa, and pre-war Foreign MinisterYōsuke Matsuoka, all descendants of lower rankingChōshū samurai families who benefited from the clan's outsized influence in the Meiji era government, and effectively created their own new clan, despite the lack of official title.[1][5][6]
The Imperial clan – descended fromAmaterasu. Itsemperors and clan members have no clan name but had been called "the imperial house" (皇室) if necessary.
Abe clan (阿部氏/安倍氏) – descended from Prince Ōhiko, son ofEmperor Kōgen. TheTsuchimikado family, descendants ofAbe no Seimei, assumed leadership of this line during the Sengoku period. It is disputed whether the Ōshū clan is related.[7]
Abe clan of Ōshū (安倍氏) – descended fromAbe no Yoritoki, were considered a separate clan from the above during the Edo era. It is now believed they are distant relatives.Shinzo Abe has claimed descent from this line.[8][9]
From the late ancient era onward, the family name (Myōji/苗字 or 名字) had been commonly used by samurai to denote their family line instead of the name of the ancient clan that the family line belongs to (uji-na/氏名 or honsei/本姓), which was used only in the official records in the Imperial court.Kuge families also had used their family name (Kamei/家名) for the same purpose. Each of samurai families is called "[family name] clan (氏)" as follows and they must not be confused with ancient clan names. The list below is a list of various aristocratic families whose families served asShugo,Shugodai,Jitō, andDaimyo
Kikkawa clan (吉川氏) – cadet branch of Kudō clan who descended from Fujiwara Nanke. After the mid 16th century they are a cadet branch of theMōri clan who descended from the Ōe clan, famous forKikkawa Motoharu.
Mōri clan (毛利氏) – descended from Ōe clan; no direct relation to the Genji-descent Mōri clan (毛利氏) or Fujiwara-descent Mōri clan (毛利氏); famous forMōri Motonari and his sons.
Niwa clan (丹羽氏) – cadet branch of Kodama clan who descended fromFujiwara Hokke (disputed); no direct relation to the Isshiki-descent Niwa clan (丹羽氏).
Niwa clan (Genji) (丹羽氏) – cadet branch ofIsshiki clan who descended fromSeiwa Genji; no direct relation to the Kodama-descent Niwa clan (丹羽氏).Mon of theOda clan
Sei clan (清氏) – cadet branch of theKiyohara clan; descended fromPrince Toneri; shortened version of Kiyohara. Sided with Hojo clan during the Koto Rebellion.
Suda clan (ja:須田) – famous for being a clan ofsamurai, andmartial art practitioners. While the northeastern and west-central family branches state that they are descended from the Minamoto clan through the Inoue family, the family branch in Okinawa has the legend that they are descendants of theJapanese dragon (Nihon ryū).
Toraijin is used to describe migrants in many contexts, from the original migration of a Yamato peoples to more recent migrants. According to the bookShinsen Shōjiroku compiled in 815, a total 326 out of 1,182 families in theKinai area on Honshū were regarded as people with foreign genealogy. The book specifically encompasses immigrants from ancient Korea and China and that these families are considered notable, although not inherently noble.[13][14]
Despite the book being highly regarded by many, there are certain claims that are under scrutiny by modern historians, and some corrections and revisions have been made over the recent years with certain clans of specific origins being classified differently.
Mimatsu clan (三松氏) – cadet branch of Kudara no Konikishi clan.
Miyake clan (三宅氏) – cadet branch of Kudara no Konikishi clan.
Ōhara clan (大原氏) – descended from an unspecified king of Paekche. Not to be confused with the Ōhara clan of the same name from theAzuchi–Momoyama period.
Nishiki clan (錦氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan.
Nishikibe clan (錦部氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan.
Takamuko clan (高向氏) – cadet branch of Yamatonoaya clan; famous forTakamuko no Kuromaro. Not to be confused with a different Takamuko clan of the same name that descends fromTakenouchi no Sukune.
Hata clan (秦氏) – claims to be descended fromYuzuki no Kimi. The clan later claimed descent fromQin Shi Huang, but recent Japanese research points this to be aggrandization and their true origin to be from Silla.
Ōtomo clan (大友氏) – claims to be descended fromMantoku no Omi ofGoguryeo. The clan later claimed descent from EmperorGaozu,Ling, andXian of Han, but recent Japanese research points this to be aggrandization and their true origin to be from Silla; no direct relation to the nativeŌtomo clan (大伴氏) or feudalŌtomo clan (大友氏) of the same name.
Shiga clan (志賀氏) – cadet branch of Ōtomo clan throughŌtomo no Suguri (大友村主).
Tachibanamori clan (橘守氏) – descended fromAmenohiboko, a prince ofSilla who came to Japan in the 3rd or 4th century.
Tajima clan (但馬氏) – descended fromAmenohiboko, a prince ofSilla who came to Japan in the 3rd or 4th century.
Asatsuma clan (朝妻氏) – descended fromTsuru no Omi (都留使主) of theKarakuni no Hito (韓国人) family. Due to the family name "Karakuni no Hito" meaning "Korean people", it may be under the wrong category.
Nishigori clan (錦織氏) – descended fromHanoji (波努志) of theKarakuni no Hito (韓国人) family. Due to the family name "Karakuni no Hito" meaning "Korean people", it may be under the wrong category.
^abMoore, Ray A. (May 1970). "Adoption and Samurai Mobility in Tokugawa Japan".The Journal of Asian Studies.29 (3):617–632.doi:10.2307/2943247.JSTOR2943247.
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