Matsumae clan
The Matsumae were an offshoot of the Takeda, founded by Kakizaki Yoshihiro (1550-1618). They unified Hokkaido's Ôshima peninsula during the mid-16th Century, and would continue to be the northernmost clan through the end of the Edo Period. They later submitted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and were confirmed in their holdings by Tokugawa Ieyasu.
During the Edo Period, the Matsumae clan managed trade and relations with the Ainu, as the Sô did with Korea, and the Shimazu did with Ryûkyû. Based at Matsumae castle, they were the only clan to hold territory on the island of Ezo (now called Hokkaidô).
David Howells describes the Matsumae as the only daimyô clan to not hold land in fief from the shogunate, their position being derived solely from their importance in managing relations and trade with the Ainu[1].
References
- Initial text from Sengoku Biographical Dictionary (Samurai-Archives.com) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005
- ↑ Howells, David. "Ainu Ethnicity and the Boundaries of the Early Modern Japanese State." Past & Present, No. 142 (Feb., 1994), pp. 69-93
