The , also rendered as Asai, was a Japanese clan during the Sengoku period.

History

The Azai clan was a line of daimyōs (feudal military lords) seated at Odani Castle in northeastern Ōmi Province, located within present day Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture. The Azai originated in the early 1500s and claimed descent from the Hokke branch of the Fujiwara, a powerful clan in Japan from the Heian period to the Kamakura period. Initially, the clan were vassals of the Kyōgoku, but gradually emerged as independent daimyōs in northern Ōmi.

  • Ubuyashiki Miyoshi - son of ???, was killed by his son Ubuyashiki Saito
  • Ubuyashiki Saito - son of Miyoshi, became Shogun and passed the post of Daimyo to his general Tzu Kyohei.
  • Ubuyashiki Kyohei - son of ???, Mitsunari's pupil and the old former leader of the Yamazakura Squad.

Prominent vassals

  • Kyōgoku Takayoshi
  • Akao Kiyotsuna
  • Isono Kazumasa
  • Kaihō Tsunachika
  • Amenomori Kiyosada
  • Tōdō Takatora

References

Further reading

  • Turnbull, Stephen. (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & Co.
  • __________. (2002). War in Japan: 1467–1615. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.