Ōta clan
Template:Japanese name The Ōta clan (太田氏,, Ōta-shi) was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ota are best known as daimyō (feudal lords) of territories on Kyūshū during the Edo period (1600–1867).[1]
In a special context created by the Tokugawa shogunate, the Ōta clan were identified as tozama or outsiders, in contrast with the fudai or insider daimyō clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawas.[2]
Ōta clan genealogy
The tozama Ōta clan originated in 15th century Musashi province.[2] They claimed descent from Minamoto Yorimasa, and through that branch of the Minamoto they claimed kinship with the Seiwa-Genji.[1]
The feudal progenitor of the clan name, Ōta Sukekuni, established himself at Ōta in Tamba province, and he adopted this location name as his own. He traced his lineage as a 5th generation descendant of Yorimasa.[1]
In 1638, Ōta Sukemune, the grandson of Ōta Yasusuke, was granted Nishio Domain in Mikawa province; and then, in 1645, he and his family was transferred to Hamamatsu Domain (35,000 koku) in Tōtōmi province. Yasusuke's descendants were moved several times by shogunate decree, residing successively in 1687 at Tanaka Domain in Suruga province, in 1703 at Tanakura Domain in Mutsu province, and in 1728 at Tatebayashi Domain in Kōzuke province.[1] Then, in the period spanning the years 1746 through 1868, this branch of the Ōta clan established itself at Kakegawa Domain (53,000 koku)[3] in Tōtōmi.[2]
The head of this clan line was ennobled as a "Viscount" in the Meiji period.[1]
Notable clan members
- Ōta Sukekuni
- Sesshū Tōyō, 1420-1506—painter.[4]
- Ōta Dōkan, 1432-1486—builder of Edo Castle (1457)
- Ōta Yasusuke
- Yasusuke's daughter, Okatsu-no-tubone/Eishoin—founded Eisho-ji in Kamakura (1636)[5]
- Ōta Sukemune, grandson of Yasusuke -- Wakadoshiyori (1833–1838)
- Ōta Sukeyoshi, 1763-1805 -- Kyoto shoshidai (1789–1792), Rōjū (1793–1801)
- Ōta Sukemoto, 1799-1867—Kyoto shoshidai (1831–1834).[6] Rōjū (1837–1841, 1858–1859, 1863)
- Ōta Minesaburo—Chief Secretary of the House of Peers, Imperial nominee (1908).[7]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Papinot, Jacques. (2003). Nobiliare du Japon -- Ōta, pp. 48; Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon. (in French/German).
- ^ a b c Appert, Georges et al. (1888). Ancien Japon, p. 76.
- ^ Papinot, p. 48.
- ^ Appert, p. 80.
- ^ Eisho-ji, Ogigayatsu area web site; Eisho-ji web site.
- ^ Meyer, Eva-Maria. "Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit." Universität Tübingen (in German).
- ^ "Nobility, Peerage and Ranks in Ancient and Meiji-Japan," pp. 10, 18.
References
- Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888). Ancien Japon. Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha.
- Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999). Japans Kaiserhof in de Edo-Zeit: Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867. Münster: Tagenbuch. ISBN 3-8258-3939-7
- Papinot, Jacques Edmund Joseph. (1906) Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha...Click link for digitized 1906 Nobiliaire du japon (2003)