Difference between revisions of "Shimazu clan"

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*''Japanese'': [[島津]]家 ''(Shimazu-ke)''
 
*''Japanese'': [[島津]]家 ''(Shimazu-ke)''
  
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The Shimazu, who may have been descended from the [[Koremune clan]], were founded by [[Shimazu Tadahisa]] (d.[[1227]]), who was appointed as military commander of southern [[Kyushu]] by [[Minamoto Yoritomo]] in [[1187]]. It was once believed that Shimazu Tadahisa was an illegitimate child of [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]], a story that has largely been abandoned since the end of the Edo Period.
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The Shimazu clan were the lords of [[Satsuma province]] for nearly 700 years, from the 1180s through the 1870s, commanding considerable power and semi-independence within their domain. During the [[Edo period]], the Shimazu had the second-highest official ''[[kokudaka]]'' in the realm, and with the marriage of [[Atsuhime]] in [[1856]] became the only samurai clan to marry daughters into the [[Tokugawa clan]]. Following the [[Meiji Restoration]], members of the clan remained powerfully influential in politics.
  
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The clan took its name from the Shimazu ''[[shoen|shôen]]'' (estate) it was granted in southern Kyushu by Yoritomo. This ''shôen'' had been established by [[Taira no Suemoto]] in the 11th century, and had grown to encompass as much as half the territory of Satsuma, Ôsumi, and Hyûga provinces. The estate was taken away from the Taira and given by Yoritomo to the Shimazu, who then became ''[[shugo]]'' in that territory; though they originally appointed ''[[daikan]]'' to administer this territory for them, following the [[Mongol Invasions]], the Shimazu, like many other clans, relocated from [[Kamakura]] to Kyushu, where they began to exercise more direct control over their estates. Militarily and politically fighting off rivals, the Shimazu began to consolidate their power in southern Kyushu.<ref name="reimei">Gallery labels, permanent exhibits, [[Reimeikan Museum]], Kagoshima.</ref>
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==History==
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The Shimazu clan was founded by [[Koremune clan|Koremune Tadahisa]] ([[1179]]-[[1227]]), who was granted the [[Shimazu-sho|Shimazu]] ''[[shoen|shôen]]'' in [[1185]], and took on the name [[Shimazu Tadahisa]]. He was then appointed as military commander of southern [[Kyushu]] by [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] in [[1187]]. It was once believed that Shimazu Tadahisa was an illegitimate child of Yoritomo's, a story that has largely been abandoned since the end of the Edo Period.
  
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The Shimazu were splintered into two contending factions following the death of [[Shimazu Sadahisa]] ([[1265]]-[[1351]]) and remained fractured into the [[Sengoku Period]]. Beginning in [[1550]], [[Shimazu Takahisa]], along with his sons [[Shimazu Yoshihisa|Yoshihisa]] and [[Shimazu Yoshihiro|Yoshihiro]], expanded the clan's domains considerably. By [[1574]], they had secured control of Satsuma province by defeating the [[Shibuya clan|Shibuya]] and [[Hishigari clan]]s, and Ôsumi province by defeating the [[Kimotsuki clan|Kimotsuki]], [[Kamo clan|Kamo]], and [[Ijichi clan]]s. They defeated the [[Ito clan|Itô clan]] in [[1577]] to claim control over parts of [[Hyuga province|Hyûga province]], and [[Otomo Sorin|Ôtomo Sôrin]] the following year, at the [[battle of Mimigawa]]. The Shimazu had even defeated [[Sagara Giyo|Sagara Giyô]] and [[Ryuzoji Takanobu|Ryûzôji Takanobu]] of [[Higo province|Higo]] and [[Hizen province]]s, expanding into northern Kyushu, before they suffered defeats at the hands of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], whose [[1587]] [[Kyushu Campaign]] ended in him securing control of the entire island.<ref name=reimei/>
+
The Shimazu ''shôen'' from which the clan takes its name had been established by [[Taira no Suemoto]] in the 11th century, and had grown to encompass as much as half the territory of Satsuma, [[Osumi province|Ôsumi]], and [[Hyuga province|Hyûga provinces]]. The estate was taken away from the Taira and given by Yoritomo to the Shimazu, who then became ''[[shugo]]'' in that territory; though they originally appointed ''[[daikan]]'' to administer this territory for them, following the [[Mongol Invasions]], the Shimazu, like many other clans, relocated from [[Kamakura]] to Kyushu, where they began to exercise more direct control over their estates. Militarily and politically fighting off rivals, the Shimazu began to consolidate their power in southern Kyushu.<ref name="reimei">Gallery labels, permanent exhibits, [[Reimeikan Museum]], Kagoshima.</ref>
  
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The Shimazu remained a powerful house through the end of the [[Edo Period]], controlling [[Satsuma han]], with a ''[[kokudaka]]'' of 770,000 ''[[koku]]'', the second-largest of any domain (''[[han]]''). Members of the family continued to be powerful and influential in government and business from the [[Meiji period]] onwards, through the 20th century and today.
+
The Shimazu lost control of Ôsumi and Hyûga in wars with the [[Hiki clan]], regaining them only under [[Shimazu Motohisa]] ([[1363]]-[[1411]]).<ref name=takatsu255>Takatsu Takashi, “Ming Jianyang Prints and the Spread of the Teachings of Zhu Xi to Japan and the Ryukyu Kingdom in the Seventeenth Century,” in Angela Schottenhammer (ed.), ''The East Asian Mediterranean: Maritime Crossroads of Culture'', Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. 255.</ref> Meanwhile, the clan itself was splintered into two contending factions following the death of [[Shimazu Sadahisa]] ([[1269]]-[[1363]]), with Sadahisa's third son [[Shimazu Morohisa]] becoming ''shugo'' of Satsuma and heading the Sôshû branch, while his fourth son [[Shimazu Ujihisa]] became ''shugo'' of Ôsumi and head of the Ôshû branch of the family.
 +
 
 +
Both families fought for the [[Northern Court]] in the wars of the [[Nanbokucho Period|Nanbokuchô Period]], against ''[[Kyushu tandai|Kyûshû tandai]]'' [[Imagawa Ryoshun|Imagawa Ryôshun]] and the [[Kimotsuki clan|Kimotsuki]], [[Nejime clan|Nejime]], [[Taniyama clan|Taniyama]], and [[Ijuin clan|Ijûin clans]]. Though falling to the [[Southern Court]] in [[1371]], the Shimazu eventually returned to the side of the Northern Court and fought briefly ''alongside'' Imagawa Ryôshun against the Southern Court; when betrayed by Imagawa in the [[Mizushima Incident]], however, they once again parted ways with him, and the two lines came together in opposing Imagawa until the latter was dismissed from his post as ''Kyûshû tandai'' in [[1395]].<ref>"[http://www.shuseikan.jp/word/family05.html Nanbokuchô no tatakai]," ''Satsuma Shimazu-ke no rekishi'', [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]] official website.</ref>
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The two branches then turned against one another once again, and the Ôshû branch, based in Ôsumi province, gradually expanded into Satsuma, until the Sôshû branch finally met its end with the suicide of [[Shimazu Hisamori]] in [[1430]] at [[Takamitsu castle]].<ref>"[http://www.shuseikan.jp/toushu/toushu09.html Shimazu Tadakuni]," ''Satsuma Shimazu-ke no rekishi'', [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]] official website.</ref> The Ôshû branch then went on to become the main line of the clan, and reunited all three provinces under its rule.
 +
 
 +
Throughout this period, the Shimazu maintained elite samurai practices, e.g. banquets, in the style of the [[Kamakura period]], expressing pride at their adherence to tradition, even as practices changed elsewhere in the archipelago. Still, they also maintained connections to new cultural developments, despite their remote geographic location, through connections to the [[Konoe family]] and others, even as Kyoto fell into chaos.<ref name=shoko>Gallery labels, [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]], Kagoshima.</ref>
 +
 
 +
The death of [[Shimazu Tatsuhisa]] in [[1474]] led to increased tensions and conflict between factions of the clan led by [[Shimazu Kunihisa]] and [[Shimazu Suehisa]], and by [[1484]], outright war broke out in southern Kyushu, in conjunction with conflicts between [[Isaku Hisatoshi]] and [[Niiro Tadatsugu]]. [[Kimotsuki Kanehisa]] rose up in rebellion in [[1506]], contributing to the decision of [[Shimazu Tadamasa]], clan head at that time, to commit suicide the following year.<ref name=takatsu255/>
 +
 
 +
Beginning in [[1550]], [[Shimazu Takahisa]], along with his sons [[Shimazu Yoshihisa|Yoshihisa]] and [[Shimazu Yoshihiro|Yoshihiro]], expanded the clan's domains considerably. By [[1574]], they had secured control of Satsuma province by defeating the [[Shibuya clan|Shibuya]] and [[Hishigari clan]]s, and Ôsumi province by defeating the [[Kimotsuki clan|Kimotsuki]], [[Kamo clan|Kamo]], and [[Ijichi clan]]s. They defeated the [[Ito clan|Itô clan]] in [[1577]] to claim control over parts of Hyûga province, and [[Otomo Sorin|Ôtomo Sôrin]] the following year, at the [[battle of Mimigawa]]. In [[1586]], Yoshihisa led forces against the Ôtomo in [[Bungo province]], while Yoshihiro attacked Bungo from [[Higo province]], and their youngest brother [[Shimazu Iehisa]] moved in from Hyûga. They quickly isolated the Ôtomo's vassals, and before long seized most, if not all, of the Ôtomo territory. They even defeated an allied force of Ôtomo and [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi|Toyotomi]] forces to keep moving forward after the [[battle of Hetsugigawa]]. The Shimazu then also defeated [[Sagara Giyo|Sagara Giyô]] and [[Ryuzoji Takanobu|Ryûzôji Takanobu]] of Higo and [[Hizen province]]s, and expanded into northern Kyushu, but began to find themselves stretched far too thin, financially, just as Toyotomi Hideyoshi began, in [[1587]], to challenge them for control of Kyushu. Before the Shimazu were able to complete their conquest of the island, they began to suffer defeats, and Hideyoshi's [[Kyushu Campaign]] ended in him securing control of the entire island.<ref name=reimei/><ref>"[http://www.shuseikan.jp/word/sengoku07.html Bungo seme]," ''Satsuma Shimazu-ke no rekishi'', Shôkoshûseikan official website.</ref> In preparing banquets for Hideyoshi, and receiving or entertaining him otherwise, the Shimazu, though proud of having upheld older samurai traditions, were forced more than ever before to adopt and perform newer forms of elite samurai practices.<ref name=shoko/>
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Though officially allied with the Western Army in the [[battle of Sekigahara]] (against [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]]), neither [[Shimazu Tadatsune|Shimazu Iehisa (Tadatsune)]] nor his brother [[Shimazu Yoshihisa]] actually contributed to the battle.<ref>''Honjin ni tomatta daimyô tachi'', Toyohashi, Aichi: Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan (1996), 24.</ref> As a result - and, likely, due to the Shimazu house's great power and the remote location of their holdings - they were permitted by Ieyasu to retain their territories under the newly-established Tokugawa hegemony. Heads of the Shimazu met with Ieyasu at [[Fushimi castle]] in [[1602]], affirming their loyalty and being confirmed in their holdings in return; Tadatsune (Iehisa) and Yoshihisa then met with Ieyasu and Hidetada at Fushimi in [[1605]] to formally declare their loyalty to Hidetada, and were received in audience by Hidetada at [[Edo castle]] in [[1607]], reaffirming their loyalty once again and marking the beginning of a regular pattern of [[sankin kotai|alternate attendance journeys to Edo]], several years before it was declared mandatory for a wider subset of the ''daimyô''.<ref>''Honjin ni tomatta daimyô tachi'', 75.</ref> The Shimazu thus remained a powerful house through the end of the [[Edo Period]], controlling [[Satsuma han]], with a ''[[kokudaka]]'' of 770,000 ''[[koku]]'', the second-largest of any domain (''[[han]]''). Members of the family continued to be powerful and influential in government and business from the [[Meiji period]] onwards, through the 20th century and today.
  
 
==Prominent Members of the Shimazu clan<ref>''Kaiyô kokka Satsuma'' 海洋国家薩摩, Kagoshima: Shôkoshûseikan (2010), 58-59.</ref>==
 
==Prominent Members of the Shimazu clan<ref>''Kaiyô kokka Satsuma'' 海洋国家薩摩, Kagoshima: Shôkoshûseikan (2010), 58-59.</ref>==
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***********[[Shimazu Tadayoshi (Soshu)|Shimazu Tadayoshi]] (Sôshû clan), son of Yoshihisa
 
***********[[Shimazu Tadayoshi (Soshu)|Shimazu Tadayoshi]] (Sôshû clan), son of Yoshihisa
 
*********[[Shimazu Tomohisa]], son of Tadakuni, progenitor of Sôshû clan<ref>相州家, not to be confused with the Shimazu Sôshû family (総州家) mentioned above.</ref>
 
*********[[Shimazu Tomohisa]], son of Tadakuni, progenitor of Sôshû clan<ref>相州家, not to be confused with the Shimazu Sôshû family (総州家) mentioned above.</ref>
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**********[[Shimazu Yokihisa]], son of Tomohisa
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**********[[Shimazu Yukihisa (Soshu)|Shimazu Yukihisa]], son of Tomohisa
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***********[[Shimazu Tadayoshi (Nisshin)|Shimazu Tadayoshi]], adopted son of Yokihisa
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***********[[Shimazu Tadayoshi (Nisshin)|Shimazu Tadayoshi]], adopted son of Yukihisa
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************Tadayoshi's sons [[Shimazu Takahisa (15th c.)|Shimazu Takahisa]], [[Shimazu Naohisa]], [[Shimazu Tadamasa (15th c.)|Shimazu Tadamasa]]
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************Tadayoshi's sons [[Shimazu Takahisa (15th c.)]], [[Shimazu Naohisa]], [[Shimazu Tadamasa (1520-1561)|Shimazu Tadamasa]]
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*************[[Shimazu Mochihisa]], son of Tadamasa
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*************[[Shimazu Yukihisa (1560-1610)]], aka Mochihisa, son of Tadamasa
 
**************Mochihisa's sons [[Shimazu Akihisa]] and [[Shimazu Tadaoki]]
 
**************Mochihisa's sons [[Shimazu Akihisa]] and [[Shimazu Tadaoki]]
 
*********[[Shimazu Tatsuhisa]] (1432-1474), son of Tadakuni, 10th family head
 
*********[[Shimazu Tatsuhisa]] (1432-1474), son of Tadakuni, 10th family head
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**********[[Shimazu Tadamasa]] (1463-1508), son of Tatsuhisa, 11th family head
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**********[[Shimazu Tadamasa (1463-1508)]], son of Tatsuhisa, 11th family head
 
***********[[Shimazu Tadaharu]] (1489-1515), son of Tadamasa, 12th family head
 
***********[[Shimazu Tadaharu]] (1489-1515), son of Tadamasa, 12th family head
 
***********[[Shimazu Tadataka]] (1497-1519), son of Tadamasa, 13th family head
 
***********[[Shimazu Tadataka]] (1497-1519), son of Tadamasa, 13th family head
 
***********[[Shimazu Katsuhisa]] (1503-1573), son of Tadamasa, 14th family head
 
***********[[Shimazu Katsuhisa]] (1503-1573), son of Tadamasa, 14th family head
 
************[[Shimazu Takahisa]] (1514-1571), adopted son of Katsuhisa, 15th family head
 
************[[Shimazu Takahisa]] (1514-1571), adopted son of Katsuhisa, 15th family head
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*************[[Shimazu Iehisa]], son of Katsuhisa, progenitor of the Nagayoshi Shimazu
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*************[[Shimazu Iehisa]], son of Takahisa, progenitor of the Nagayoshi Shimazu
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*************[[Shimazu Toshihisa]], son of Katsuhisa, progenitor of the Hioki Shimazu
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*************[[Shimazu Toshihisa]], son of Takahisa, progenitor of the Hioki Shimazu
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*************[[Shimazu Yoshihisa]] (1533-1611), son of Katsuhisa, 16th family head
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*************[[Shimazu Yoshihisa]] (1533-1611), son of Takahisa, 16th family head
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*************[[Shimazu Yoshihiro]] (1535-1619), son of Katsuhisa, 17th family head
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**************[[Shimazu Kameju]] (1571-1630), daughter of Yoshihisa, wife of Shimazu Iehisa
 +
*************[[Shimazu Yoshihiro]] (1535-1619), son of Takahisa, 17th family head
 
**************[[Shimazu Hisayasu]], son of Yoshihiro
 
**************[[Shimazu Hisayasu]], son of Yoshihiro
 
**************[[Shimazu Tadatsune]] (1576-1638, aka Iehisa), son of Yoshihiro, 18th family head, 1st Edo period daimyô of Satsuma
 
**************[[Shimazu Tadatsune]] (1576-1638, aka Iehisa), son of Yoshihiro, 18th family head, 1st Edo period daimyô of Satsuma
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*******************[[Shimazu Tadanori]] (Shigetomi family), son of Yoshitaka
 
*******************[[Shimazu Tadanori]] (Shigetomi family), son of Yoshitaka
 
*******************[[Shimazu Tsugutoyo]] (1701-1760), son of Yoshitaka, 22nd family head, 5th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
 
*******************[[Shimazu Tsugutoyo]] (1701-1760), son of Yoshitaka, 22nd family head, 5th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
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********************[[Shimazu Munenobu]] (1728-1749), son of Tsugutoyo, 23rd family head, 6th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
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*******************[[Takehime]] (1705-1772), adopted daughter of [[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi]] & [[Tokugawa Yoshimune]], wife of Tsugutoyo
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********************[[Shimazu Munenobu]] (1728-1749), son of Tsugutoyo & adoptive son of Takehime, 23rd family head, 6th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
 
********************[[Shimazu Shigetoshi]] (1729-1755), son of Tsugutoyo, 24th family head, 7th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
 
********************[[Shimazu Shigetoshi]] (1729-1755), son of Tsugutoyo, 24th family head, 7th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
 
*********************[[Shimazu Shigehide]] (1745-1833), son of Shigetoshi, 25th family head, 8th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
 
*********************[[Shimazu Shigehide]] (1745-1833), son of Shigetoshi, 25th family head, 8th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
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**********************[[Shimazu Narihiro]], lord of [[Fukuoka han]], son of Shigehide, adopted by [[Kuroda Narikiyo]]
 
**********************[[Shimazu Narihiro]], lord of [[Fukuoka han]], son of Shigehide, adopted by [[Kuroda Narikiyo]]
 
**********************[[Shimazu Nobuyuki]], lord of [[Hachinohe han]], son of Shigehide, adopted by [[Nanbu Nobumasa]]
 
**********************[[Shimazu Nobuyuki]], lord of [[Hachinohe han]], son of Shigehide, adopted by [[Nanbu Nobumasa]]
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**********************[[Shimazu Narinobu]] (1773-1841), son of Shigehide, 26th family head, 9th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
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**********************[[Shimazu Narinobu]] (1774-1841), son of Shigehide, 26th family head, 9th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
 
***********************[[Shimazu Sadatake]], lord of [[Iyo-Matsuyama han]], son of Narinobu, adopted by [[Matsudaira Sadamichi]]
 
***********************[[Shimazu Sadatake]], lord of [[Iyo-Matsuyama han]], son of Narinobu, adopted by [[Matsudaira Sadamichi]]
 
***********************[[Shimazu Tadatake]] (Imaizumi family), son of Narinobu
 
***********************[[Shimazu Tadatake]] (Imaizumi family), son of Narinobu
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************************[[Shimazu Hisamitsu]] (Shimazu Tamazato family), son of Narioki
 
************************[[Shimazu Hisamitsu]] (Shimazu Tamazato family), son of Narioki
 
*************************[[Shimazu Tadayoshi]] (1840-1897), son of Hisamitsu, adopted son of Nariakira, 29th family head, 12th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
 
*************************[[Shimazu Tadayoshi]] (1840-1897), son of Hisamitsu, adopted son of Nariakira, 29th family head, 12th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
 +
**************************[[Shimazu Tadashige]] (1886-1968), son of Tadayoshi
 
************************[[Shimazu Nariakira]] (1809-1858), son of Narioki, 28th family head, 11th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
 
************************[[Shimazu Nariakira]] (1809-1858), son of Narioki, 28th family head, 11th Edo pd daimyô of Satsuma
 
*************************[[Sada-hime]], daughter of Nariakira, wife of [[Konoe Tadafusa]]
 
*************************[[Sada-hime]], daughter of Nariakira, wife of [[Konoe Tadafusa]]

Latest revision as of 11:49, 28 September 2017

The Shimazu circled-cross mon, seen above a replica of Shimazu Yoshihiro's armor, on display at Sengan'en
  • Japanese: 島津家 (Shimazu-ke)

The Shimazu clan were the lords of Satsuma province for nearly 700 years, from the 1180s through the 1870s, commanding considerable power and semi-independence within their domain. During the Edo period, the Shimazu had the second-highest official kokudaka in the realm, and with the marriage of Atsuhime in 1856 became the only samurai clan to marry daughters into the Tokugawa clan. Following the Meiji Restoration, members of the clan remained powerfully influential in politics.

History

The Shimazu clan was founded by Koremune Tadahisa (1179-1227), who was granted the Shimazu shôen in 1185, and took on the name Shimazu Tadahisa. He was then appointed as military commander of southern Kyushu by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1187. It was once believed that Shimazu Tadahisa was an illegitimate child of Yoritomo's, a story that has largely been abandoned since the end of the Edo Period.

The Shimazu shôen from which the clan takes its name had been established by Taira no Suemoto in the 11th century, and had grown to encompass as much as half the territory of Satsuma, Ôsumi, and Hyûga provinces. The estate was taken away from the Taira and given by Yoritomo to the Shimazu, who then became shugo in that territory; though they originally appointed daikan to administer this territory for them, following the Mongol Invasions, the Shimazu, like many other clans, relocated from Kamakura to Kyushu, where they began to exercise more direct control over their estates. Militarily and politically fighting off rivals, the Shimazu began to consolidate their power in southern Kyushu.[1]

The Shimazu lost control of Ôsumi and Hyûga in wars with the Hiki clan, regaining them only under Shimazu Motohisa (1363-1411).[2] Meanwhile, the clan itself was splintered into two contending factions following the death of Shimazu Sadahisa (1269-1363), with Sadahisa's third son Shimazu Morohisa becoming shugo of Satsuma and heading the Sôshû branch, while his fourth son Shimazu Ujihisa became shugo of Ôsumi and head of the Ôshû branch of the family.

Both families fought for the Northern Court in the wars of the Nanbokuchô Period, against Kyûshû tandai Imagawa Ryôshun and the Kimotsuki, Nejime, Taniyama, and Ijûin clans. Though falling to the Southern Court in 1371, the Shimazu eventually returned to the side of the Northern Court and fought briefly alongside Imagawa Ryôshun against the Southern Court; when betrayed by Imagawa in the Mizushima Incident, however, they once again parted ways with him, and the two lines came together in opposing Imagawa until the latter was dismissed from his post as Kyûshû tandai in 1395.[3]

The two branches then turned against one another once again, and the Ôshû branch, based in Ôsumi province, gradually expanded into Satsuma, until the Sôshû branch finally met its end with the suicide of Shimazu Hisamori in 1430 at Takamitsu castle.[4] The Ôshû branch then went on to become the main line of the clan, and reunited all three provinces under its rule.

Throughout this period, the Shimazu maintained elite samurai practices, e.g. banquets, in the style of the Kamakura period, expressing pride at their adherence to tradition, even as practices changed elsewhere in the archipelago. Still, they also maintained connections to new cultural developments, despite their remote geographic location, through connections to the Konoe family and others, even as Kyoto fell into chaos.[5]

The death of Shimazu Tatsuhisa in 1474 led to increased tensions and conflict between factions of the clan led by Shimazu Kunihisa and Shimazu Suehisa, and by 1484, outright war broke out in southern Kyushu, in conjunction with conflicts between Isaku Hisatoshi and Niiro Tadatsugu. Kimotsuki Kanehisa rose up in rebellion in 1506, contributing to the decision of Shimazu Tadamasa, clan head at that time, to commit suicide the following year.[2]

Beginning in 1550, Shimazu Takahisa, along with his sons Yoshihisa and Yoshihiro, expanded the clan's domains considerably. By 1574, they had secured control of Satsuma province by defeating the Shibuya and Hishigari clans, and Ôsumi province by defeating the Kimotsuki, Kamo, and Ijichi clans. They defeated the Itô clan in 1577 to claim control over parts of Hyûga province, and Ôtomo Sôrin the following year, at the battle of Mimigawa. In 1586, Yoshihisa led forces against the Ôtomo in Bungo province, while Yoshihiro attacked Bungo from Higo province, and their youngest brother Shimazu Iehisa moved in from Hyûga. They quickly isolated the Ôtomo's vassals, and before long seized most, if not all, of the Ôtomo territory. They even defeated an allied force of Ôtomo and Toyotomi forces to keep moving forward after the battle of Hetsugigawa. The Shimazu then also defeated Sagara Giyô and Ryûzôji Takanobu of Higo and Hizen provinces, and expanded into northern Kyushu, but began to find themselves stretched far too thin, financially, just as Toyotomi Hideyoshi began, in 1587, to challenge them for control of Kyushu. Before the Shimazu were able to complete their conquest of the island, they began to suffer defeats, and Hideyoshi's Kyushu Campaign ended in him securing control of the entire island.[1][6] In preparing banquets for Hideyoshi, and receiving or entertaining him otherwise, the Shimazu, though proud of having upheld older samurai traditions, were forced more than ever before to adopt and perform newer forms of elite samurai practices.[5]

Though officially allied with the Western Army in the battle of Sekigahara (against Tokugawa Ieyasu), neither Shimazu Iehisa (Tadatsune) nor his brother Shimazu Yoshihisa actually contributed to the battle.[7] As a result - and, likely, due to the Shimazu house's great power and the remote location of their holdings - they were permitted by Ieyasu to retain their territories under the newly-established Tokugawa hegemony. Heads of the Shimazu met with Ieyasu at Fushimi castle in 1602, affirming their loyalty and being confirmed in their holdings in return; Tadatsune (Iehisa) and Yoshihisa then met with Ieyasu and Hidetada at Fushimi in 1605 to formally declare their loyalty to Hidetada, and were received in audience by Hidetada at Edo castle in 1607, reaffirming their loyalty once again and marking the beginning of a regular pattern of alternate attendance journeys to Edo, several years before it was declared mandatory for a wider subset of the daimyô.[8] The Shimazu thus remained a powerful house through the end of the Edo Period, controlling Satsuma han, with a kokudaka of 770,000 koku, the second-largest of any domain (han). Members of the family continued to be powerful and influential in government and business from the Meiji period onwards, through the 20th century and today.

Prominent Members of the Shimazu clan[9]

Prominent Branch and Retainer Families

In 1712/11, family head Shimazu Yoshitaka reorganized the status hierarchy of the Shimazu retainer families. The top-ranking group of retainer families, known as the ichimon-yonke (一門四家), were the Kajiki, Shigetomi (Echizen) Shimazu, Imaizumi Shimazu, and Tarumizu Shimazu clans.[12]

Directly below them was a group of families known as the daishinbun (大身分), lower in status than the ichimonke, but still above the Shimazu karô ("House Elders," also known as kokurô, or "Domain Elders") The daishinbun included the Shimazu Saemon clan (also known as the Hioki Shimazu), the Shimazu Suo clan (Hanaoka Shimazu), and the Hongô clan (Shimazu Chikugo clan, or Miyakonojô Shimazu), with the Shimazu Tosho clan (Miyanojô Shimazu) being added to the group later.[12]

Other prominent Shimazu retainer families included the Ijûin, Kabayama, Tanegashima, and Niiro clans.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gallery labels, permanent exhibits, Reimeikan Museum, Kagoshima.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Takatsu Takashi, “Ming Jianyang Prints and the Spread of the Teachings of Zhu Xi to Japan and the Ryukyu Kingdom in the Seventeenth Century,” in Angela Schottenhammer (ed.), The East Asian Mediterranean: Maritime Crossroads of Culture, Harrassowitz Verlag, 2008. 255.
  3. ↑ "Nanbokuchô no tatakai," Satsuma Shimazu-ke no rekishi, Shôkoshûseikan official website.
  4. ↑ "Shimazu Tadakuni," Satsuma Shimazu-ke no rekishi, Shôkoshûseikan official website.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gallery labels, Shôkoshûseikan, Kagoshima.
  6. ↑ "Bungo seme," Satsuma Shimazu-ke no rekishi, Shôkoshûseikan official website.
  7. ↑ Honjin ni tomatta daimyô tachi, Toyohashi, Aichi: Futagawa-juku honjin shiryôkan (1996), 24.
  8. ↑ Honjin ni tomatta daimyô tachi, 75.
  9. ↑ Kaiyô kokka Satsuma 海洋国家薩摩, Kagoshima: Shôkoshûseikan (2010), 58-59.
  10. ↑ The Sôshû family (総州家) was considered one of the chief branch families of the Shimazu lords of Satsuma
  11. ↑ 相州家, not to be confused with the Shimazu Sôshû family (総州家) mentioned above.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Miyakonojô to Ryûkyû ôkoku 都城と琉球王国, Miyakonojô Shimazu Residence (2012), 28.
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