Ogasawara clan

The Ogasawara kamon.

• Japanese: 小笠原家 (Ogasawara-ke)

The Ogasawara of Shinano were descended from the Seiwa Genji/Minamoto and were founded by Ogasawara Nagakiyo (1162-1242), a grandson of Takeda Yoshikiyo who served Minamoto no Yoritomo during the Gempei War (1180-85). The Ogasawara later served Ashikaga Takauji and were given land in Shinano Province. In the early stage of the Sengoku Period, the Ogasawara, lords of Fukashi castle, split, with one son going to serve the Imagawa while the other remained at Fukashi. The Fukashi-Ogasawara were later defeated by Takeda Shingen on a number of occasions, fleeing to the lands of the Uesugi for sanctuary. The other branch eventually became (largely) loyal Tokugawa retainers.

References

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