The was a Japanese samurai family whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū.
Origins
The first family head, Ōtomo Yoshinao (1172–1223), took the name from the Ōtomo territory in Sagami Province. The clan claims descent from Emperor Seiwa (850-881) through the Seiwa Genji lineage of the Minamoto clan. Although the clan genealogy claims Yoshinao to be an illegitimate son of Minamoto no Yoritomo, it has been concluded that he was in fact a descendant of the Fujiwara clan. The clan would expand their power in Bungo Province along with the Shiga clan, founded by Yoshinao's eighth son Shiga Yoshisato, Following the unrest of the Nanboku-chō period, the clan became an influential Shugo Daimyo family in Bungo, Buzen, and Chikugo Provinces during the Muromachi period.
See also
- Shimazu clan
- Shōni clan
- Tachibana clan
References
- Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & Co.
External links
- City of Oita Official Digital Archive (Japanese)
- Cultural Heritage Online - Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan