Northern Fujiwara

thumb|The [[Mōtsū-ji portrait of Oshu-Fujiwara clan heads: clockwise, Kiyohira, Motohira and Hidehira.]]

thumb|The domain of the Oshu-Fujiwara clan and other military lords in Japan (1183)

The were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū, also known as Ōshū) of Japan during the 12th century, 1094–1104, as their own realm.

They succeeded the semi-independent Emishi families of the 11th century, who were gradually brought down by the Minamoto clan loyal to the Imperial Court in Kyoto. They ruled over an independent region that derived its wealth from gold mining, horse trading, and serving as middlemen in the trade in luxury items from continental Asia and from the far northern Emishi. They were able to keep their independence vis-à-vis Kyoto by the strength of their warrior bands until they were ultimately conquered by the Kantō samurai clans led by Minamoto no Yoritomo,

Fujiwara no Kiyohira, after his father's death, was raised as a member of the Kiyohara clan as his mother remarried into a Kiyohara family in Dewa Province.

Along with Kiyohira, the next two generations of Fujiwara no Motohira and Hidehira saw the zenith of Northern Fujiwara's power in the Tōhoku region. Hidehira had remained neutral during the Genpei War, but when Yoshitsune took refuge in Hiraizumi, he decided to protect him. Thus, the Battle of Ōshū began.

<nowiki>*a.k.a.</nowiki> Izumi (no) Saburo

(Adopted kin are not shown.)

References

Hudson, Mark J. (1999). "Ainu Ethnogenesis and the Northern Fujiwara". Arctic Anthropology 36 (1/2). University of Wisconsin Press: 73–83. .