Matsura clan

• Japanese: 松浦家 (Matsura ke)

The Matsura of Hizen province had somewhat obscure origins, and may have originally been a collection of land-owners who united under the name 'Matsura'. One theory holds that the Matsura line that persisted into the Edo period was established by Minamoto no Hisashi, a descendant of Emperor Saga.

The Matsura, known for their naval power (and involvement in piracy), survived the Sengoku period and in the Edo period became lords of Hirado han. Their territory included not only Hirado Island, but also the Iki Islands to the north and a number of islands between Hirado and the Gotô Islands to the west.

References

• Initial text from Sengoku Biographical Dictionary (Samurai-Archives.com) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005