Kitabatake clan (Mutsu)

The Kitabatake of northern Mutsu province (what is today Aomori-ken) were related to the Kitabatake of Ise province and descended, like them, from the Murakami Genji. This branch of the family, also known as the Namioka-Kitabatake, was descended from Kitabatake Akiie (1317-1338), a son of the famous Kitabatake Chikafusa. During the 16th century they competed with the neighboring Daikouji and Ôura families. Following a damaging internal disturbance in 1562, the power of the family waned, and in 1578 Kitabatake Akimura was attacked by Ôura (Tsugaru) Tamenobu and committed suicide, ending the Kitabatake as daimyô. A cousin of Akimura named Kitabatake Akinori became a retainer of the Nanbu and assumed the name Namioka. Later, his descendants would restore the Kitabatake name.

References

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