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.

References

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