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. The Shimazu were splintered into two contending factions following the death of Shimazu Sadahisa (1265-1351) and remained fractured into the Sengoku Period. Building on the efforts of his father Shimazu Takahisa, Shimazu Yoshihisa managed to take much of Kyushu by 1587 but was forced back by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Though they supported Ishida Mitsunari in 1600, the Shimazu remained a powerful house until the end of the Edo Period. It was once believed that Shimazu Tadahisa was an illegitimate child of Minamoto Yoritomo, a story that has largely been abandoned since the end of the Edo Period.
References
- Initial text from Sengoku Biographical Dictionary (Samurai-Archives.com) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005