Japanese clans


This is a list of Japanese clans. The old clans mentioned in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki lost their political power before the Heian period, during which new aristocracies and families, kuge, emerged in their place. After the Heian period, the samurai warrior clans gradually increased in importance and power until they came to dominate the country after the founding of the first shogunate.
Japan traditionally practiced cognatic primogeniture, or male-line inheritance in regard to passing down titles and estates. By allowing adult adoption, or for men to take their wife's name and be adopted into her family served as a means to pass down an estate to a family without any sons, Japan has managed to retain continuous family leadership for many of the below clans, the imperial family, and even ordinary family businesses.
The ability for Japanese families to track their lineage over successive generations plays a far more important role than simply having the same name as another family, as many commoners did not use a family name prior to the Meiji Restoration, and many simply adopted the name of the lord of their village, or the name of their domain, and may not necessarily have been a retainer to the clan. Other clan names are based on common geographic features or other arbitrary words that didn't necessarily indicate clan membership.
Many families also adopted sons from other families or married their daughters into other families to cement ties with a larger kin group outside of those with the same name as the main family line, called keibatsu, a clan or family relationship built around both blood and maternal relations. Tokugawa Ieyasu himself had adopted two dozen children of allies in addition to his 16 acknowledged children.
The Meiji Restoration sought to dismantle the clan structure, giving clan leaders titles of nobility to inspire loyalty to the emperor rather than individual clans. However those familial relationships built over multiple generations still maintained their ties, first as monbatsu, then with industrialization, evolved into the pre-war zaibatsu, which were formed by these same inter-clan relationships. With the abolishment of the kazoku in 1947, they reverted to their unofficial keibatsu, and elements of which can be seen today in political families such as the Satō–Kishi–Abe family, with family ties to Marquess Inoue Kaoru, Viscount Ōshima Yoshimasa, and pre-war Foreign Minister Yōsuke Matsuoka, all descendants of lower ranking Chōshū samurai families who benefited from the clan's outsized influence in the Meiji era government, and effectively created their own new clan, despite the lack of official title.

Ancient clan names

There are ancient-era clan names called Uji or Honsei''.

Imperial clan

  • The Imperial clan – descended from Amaterasu. Its emperors and clan members have no clan name but had been called "the imperial house" if necessary.

    Four noble clans

Gempeitōkitsu, 4 noble clans of Japan:
From the late ancient era onward, the family name had been commonly used by samurai to denote their family line instead of the name of the ancient clan that the family line belongs to, which was used only in the official records in the Imperial court. Kuge families also had used their family name for the same purpose. Each of samurai families is called " clan " as follows and they must not be confused with ancient clan names. The list below is a list of various aristocratic families whose families served as Shugo, Shugodai, Jitō, and Daimyo
  • Abe clan of Mikawa – descended from Emperor Kōgen and the ancient Abe clan ; no direct relation to the Abe clan of Ōshū.
  • Adachi clan – descended from Fujiwara clan.
  • Akamatsu clan – descended from Murakami Genji.
  • Akechi clan – cadet branch of Toki clan who descended from Seiwa Genji; famous for Akechi Mitsuhide.
  • Akita clan – descended from Abe clan of Ōshū.
  • Akiyama clan – cadet branch of Takeda clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Akizuki clan – descended from Prince Achi no Omi of the Yamatonoaya clan.
  • Amago clan – cadet branch of Sasaki clan who descended from Uda Genji.
  • Amakusa clan – descended from Ōkura clan.
  • Anayama clan – cadet branch of Takeda clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Andō clan – descended from Abe clan of Ōshū, by Abe no Hirafu.
  • Asakura clan – descended from Prince Kusakabe son of Emperor Tenmu.
  • Asano clan – cadet branch of Toki clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Ashikaga clan – descended from Seiwa Genji; famous for Ashikaga shogunate; no direct relation to the Fujiwara-descent Ashikaga clan.
  • Ashikaga clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke; no direct relation to the Genji-descent Ashikaga clan.
  • Ashina clan – cadet branch of Miura clan who descended from Kanmu Heishi.
  • Aso clan – descended from Emperor Jimmu by the Ō clan.
  • Asō clan – cadet branch of Utsunomiya clan who descended from Fujiwara Hokke; famous for Tarō Asō.
  • Atagi clan – cadet branch of Ogasawara clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Azai clan – descended from Fujiwara clan; famous for Azai Nagamasa.
  • Bitō clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Chiba clan – descended from Kanmu Heishi.
  • Date clan – also known as Idate clan or Idachi clan, descended from Fujiwara Hokke; famous for Date Masamune.
  • Doi clan – cadet branch of Toki clan who descended from Seiwa Genji ; no direct relation to the Heishi-descent Doi clan.
  • Doi clan – descended from Kanmu Heishi; no direct relation to the Genji-descent Doi clan.
  • Fuji clan – descended from Wani clan.
  • Gotō clan – cadet branch of Takeda clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Hachisuka clan – cadet branch of Ashikaga clan by the Shiba clan who descended from Seiwa Genji, famous for Hachisuka Masakatsu.
  • Haga clan – descended from Kiyowara clan.
  • Hashiba clan – also known as their honsei: Toyotomi clan ; descended from Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
  • Hatakeyama clan – descended from Kanmu Heishi before 1205. After 1205 the Hatakeyama are a cadet branch of Ashikaga clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Hatano clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Hayashi clan – descended from Ogasawara clan, a cadet branch of Takeda clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Hayashi clan of Owari – descended from Inaba clan who descended from Prince Iyo, son of Emperor Kanmu; no direct relation to the Hayashi clan of Jōzai Domain.
  • Hiki clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Hirano clan – descended from Prince Toneri son of Emperor Tenmu, by the Kiyowara clan.
  • Hisamatsu clan – cadet branch of Takatsuji family who descended from Sugawara clan.
  • Hitotsuyanagi clan – cadet branch of Kōno clan who descended from Prince Iyo, son of Emperor Kanmu.
  • Hōjō clan – descended from Kanmu Heishi ; no direct relation to the Later Hōjō clan or Kitajō clan ; regents of the Kamakura shogunate.
  • Later Hōjō clan – also known as Hōjō clan or Go-Hōjō clan; descended from Kanmu Heishi; no direct relation to the regent Hōjō clan or Kitajō clan.
  • Honma clan – also known as Homma clan or Honma clan of Sado; cadet branch of Yokoyama clan who descended from Ono no Takamura.
  • * Honma clan of Sakata – cadet branch.
  • Honda clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke; famous for Honda Tadakatsu.
  • Hosokawa clan – cadet branch of Ashikaga clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • * Hosokawa Keichō family – head family.
  • * Hosokawa Tenkyū family – cadet branch.
  • * Hosokawa family of Awa – cadet branch; descended from Hosokawa Akiharu.
  • * Hosokawa family of Ōshū – cadet branch; descended from Hosokawa Akiuji.
  • Hotta clan – descended from Emperor Kōgen through the Ki clan.
  • Ichijō family – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Ichijō clan of Tosa – cadet branch of Ichijō family who descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Ide clan – cadet branch of Nikaidō clan who descended from Fujiwara Nanke.
  • Ii clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke; famous for Ii Naotora, Ii Naomasa and Ii Naosuke.
  • Iio clan – cadet branch of Hosokawa clan; famous for Iio Noritsura.
  • Ikeda clan – descended from Seiwa Genji; no direct relation to other clans called Ikeda.
  • Ikeda clan of Iyo – no direct relation to other clans called Ikeda.
  • Ikeda clan of Mino – no direct relation to other clans called Ikeda.
  • Ikeda clan of Sasaki – cadet branch of Sasaki clan; no direct relation to other clans called Ikeda.
  • Ikeda clan of Settsu – descended from Ki clan. no direct relation to other clans called Ikeda.
  • Imagawa clan – cadet branch of Ashikaga clan who descended from Seiwa Genji; famous for Imagawa Yoshimoto.
  • Inaba clan – cadet branch of Kōno clan who descended from Prince Iyo, son of Emperor Kanmu.
  • Inoue clan – descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • * Inoue clan of Shinano – head family.
  • * Inoue clan of Aki – cadet branch.
  • * Inoue clan of Mikawa – cadet branch.
  • Ishida clan – cadet branch of Miura clan who descended from Kanmu Heishi. famous for Ishida Mitsunari
  • Ishikawa clan – also known as Ishikawa Genji; descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Ishimaki clan – descended from Nanke.
  • Itō clan – cadet branch of Kudō clan who descended from Nanke.
  • Kamiizumi clan – cadet branch of Fujiwara-descent Ashikaga clan who descended Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Kanamaru clan – cadet branch of Takeda clan who descended from Seiwa Genji by way of Takeda Nobushige.
  • Kagawa clan – descended from Kanmu Heishi.
  • Kikkawa clan – cadet branch of Kudō clan who descended from Fujiwara Nanke. After the mid 16th century they are a cadet branch of the Mōri clan who descended from the Ōe clan, famous for Kikkawa Motoharu.
  • Kikuchi clan – descended from the Fujiwara clan.
  • Kira clan – cadet branch of Ashikaga clan who descended from Seiwa Genji; famous for Kira Yoshinaka.
  • Kiso clan – descended from Seiwa Genji; famous for Minamoto no Yoshinaka.
  • Kitabatake clan – descended from Murakami Genji.
  • Kitajō clan – also known as Kitajō clan of Echigo or Mōri Kitajō clan; cadet branch of Mōri clan; no direct relation to the Hōjō clan or Late Hōjō clan.
  • Kiyowara clan – descended from Prince Toneri, son of the Emperor Tenmu.
  • Kobayakawa clan – cadet branch of Doi clan who descended from Kanmu Heishi. After the mid 16th century they are a cadet branch of the Mōri clan who descended from the Ōe clan, famous for Kobayakawa Takakage and Kobayakawa Hideaki.
  • Kodama clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Koga family – descended from Murakami Genji.
  • Kōno clan – descended from Prince Iyo son of Emperor Kanmu.
  • Konoe family – descended from Fujiwara Hokke. famous for Konoe Fumimaro.
  • Kudō clan – descended from Fujiwara Nanke.
  • Kujō family – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Kuzuyama clan – cadet branch of Ozutsuki clan; famous for medical knowledge.
  • Kyōgoku clan – cadet branch of Sasaki clan who descended from Uda Genji.
  • Maeda clan – descended from Sugawara clan; famous for Maeda Toshiie.
  • Makino clan – descended from Minamoto clan; claimed descent from the legendary Takenouchi no Sukune.
  • Manabe clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Matsuda clan – cadet branch of Hatano clan who descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Matsudaira clan – cadet branch of Nitta clan, by the Tokugawa clan descended from Seiwa Genji ; famous for Tokugawa Ieyasu.
  • Matsumae clan – cadet branch of Takeda clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Matsunaga clan – descended from Fujiwara clan and retainers for the Miyoshi clan. Famous for Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide.
  • Matsuura clan – cadet branch of Watanabe clan who descended from Saga Genji.
  • Miura clan – descended from Kanmu Heishi.
  • Mikumo clan – cadet branch of Kodama clan who descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Miyahara clan – descended from Ashikaga Motouji.
  • Miyoshi clan – cadet branch of Takeda clan, by the Ogasawara clan who descended from Seiwa Genji, famous for Miyoshi Nagayoshi; no direct relation to the Fujiwara-descent Miyoshi clan.
  • Miyoshi clan – descended from Fujiwara clan; no direct relation to the Ogasahara-descent Miyoshi clan.
  • Mizuryū clan – descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Mogami clan – cadet branch by the Shiba clan of the Ashikaga clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Mori clan – descended from Seiwa Genji; famous for Mori Ranmaru.
  • Mōri clan – descended from Ōe clan; no direct relation to the Genji-descent Mōri clan or Fujiwara-descent Mōri clan ; famous for Mōri Motonari and his sons.
  • * Mōri clan of Inaba – cadet branch.
  • Mōri clan – descended from Uda Genji; no direct relation to Ōe-descent Mōri clan or Fujiwara-descent Mōri clan ;
  • Mōri clan – descended from Fujiwara clan ; no direct relation to Ōe-descent Mōri clan or Genji-descent Mōri clan ;
  • Murakami clan – descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • * Murakami clan of Inland Sea – also known as Murakami Suigun; famous for their naval forces.
  • ** Murakami clan of Innoshima
  • ** Murakami clan of Kurushima
  • ** Murakami clan of Nōnoshima
  • * Murakami clan of Shinano – also known as Shinshū Murakami clan; famous for Murakami Yoshikiyo.
  • Nagao clan – descended from Kanmu Heishi; famous for Uesugi Kenshin.
  • Nabeshima clan – cadet branch of Shōni clan who descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Nakayama family – descended from Nakayama Tadachika, third son of Fujiwara no Tadamune of the Fujiwara Hokke. Known for Nakayama Tadayasu and his daughter Nakayama Yoshiko, mother of the Emperor Meiji.
  • Niiro clan – cadet branch of Shimazu clan of the Satsuma Domain who descended from Seiwa Genji and the Koremune clan.
  • Nakamura clan
  • Nanbu clan – cadet branch of Takeda clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Nijō family – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Nitta clan – descended from Seiwa Genji; famous for Nitta Yoshisada.
  • Niwa clan – cadet branch of Kodama clan who descended from Fujiwara Hokke ; no direct relation to the Isshiki-descent Niwa clan.
  • Niwa clan – cadet branch of Isshiki clan who descended from Seiwa Genji; no direct relation to the Kodama-descent Niwa clan.
  • Oda clan – descended from Kanmu Heishi ; famous for Oda Nobunaga.
  • Ôishi clan of Ako – descended from the Fujiwara clan. The name Oishi comes from 'Oishi no sho' in Omi province. Famous for Ōishi Yoshio.
  • Ôishi clan of Shinano – descended from the Fujiwara clan through the Numata clan. The name Oishi comes from 'Oishi go', in Shinano province.
  • Ôishi clan of Musashi – descended from the Kiso clan.
  • Ōkōchi clan – descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Ōta clan – descended from Seiwa Genji; famous for Ōta Dōkan.
  • Ogasawara clan – cadet branch of Takeda clan descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Ōtomo clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke; no direct relation to the immigrant Ōtomo clan or the ancient Ōtomo clan ; famous for Ōtomo Sōrin.
  • Ōuchi clan – descended from Tatara clan and claim to descend from the royal house of Paekche.
  • Rokkaku clan – cadet branch of Sasaki clan who descended from Uda Genji.
  • Sagara clan – descended from Fujiwara Nanke.
  • Saitō clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke; famous for Saitō Dōsan.
  • Sakai clan – cadet branch of Nitta clan, by the Tokugawa clan descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Sakuma clan – cadet branch of Miura clan who descended from Kanmu Heishi.
  • Sanada clan – descended from Seiwa Genji ; famous for Sanada Nobushige who is more commonly known as Sanada Yukimura.
  • Sanjō family – descended from Fujiwara Hokke; famous for Sanjō Sanetomi.
  • Sasaki clan – descended from Uda Genji.
  • Satake clan – descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Satomi clan – descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Sei clan – cadet branch of the Kiyohara clan; descended from Prince Toneri; shortened version of Kiyohara. Sided with Hojo clan during the Koto Rebellion.
  • Shiba clan – cadet branch of Ashikaga clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Shimizu clan of Mino – descended from Minamoto no Yorimitsu of the Seiwa Genji.
  • Shimizu clan of Bicchu – descended from the Taira clan.
  • Shimizu clan of Izu – descended from the Fujiwara clan.
  • Shimizu clan of Dewa – cadet branch of the Mogami clan and through the Shiba clan from the Ashikaga clan.
  • Shimazu clan – also known as Satsuma Clan; descended from Seiwa Genji and the Koremune clan.
  • Shinmen clan – also known as Shimmen clan; cadet branch of Akamatsu clan who descended from Murakami Genji.
  • Shioya clan – descended from the Fujiwara clan.
  • Shōni clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Sō clan – descended from Koremune clan.
  • Sogō clan – descended from Emperor Keikō.
  • Sōma clan – cadet branch of Chiba clan who descended from Kanmu Heishi.
  • * Sōma clan of Ōshū – head family.
  • * Sōma clan of Shimōsa – cadet branch.
  • Suda clan – famous for being a clan of samurai, and martial art practitioners. While the northeastern and west-central family branches state that they are descended from the Minamoto clan through the Inoue family, the family branch in Okinawa has the legend that they are descendants of the Japanese dragon.
  • Sue clan – cadet branch of Ōuchi clan who descended from Tatara clan. famous for Sue Harukata.
  • Sugi clan – cadet branch of Sasaki clan who descended from Uda Genji; famous for Yoshida Shōin.
  • Suwa clan – more or less unknown ancestors, many believed Suwa descended from Seiwa Genji through Minamoto no Tsunetomo.
  • Tachibana clan – cadet branch of Ōtomo clan, descended from Ōtomo Yoshinao; no direct relation to the ancient Tachibana clan ; famous for Tachibana Ginchiyo and her husband Tachibana Muneshige.
  • Takanashi clan – cadet branch of Inoue clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Takaoka clan – descended from Uda Genji or Seiwa Genji.
  • Takatsuji family – descended from Sugawara clan.
  • Takatsukasa family – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Takeda clan – also known as Takeda clan of Kai; descended from Seiwa Genji; famous for Takeda Shingen.
  • * Takeda clan of Aki – cadet branch.
  • * Takeda clan of Kazusa – cadet branch.
  • * Takeda clan of Wakasa – cadet branch.
  • Takenaka clan – cadet branch of Toki clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Takigawa clan – descended from Ki clan or Tomo clan.
  • Tanegashima clan – descended from Kanmu Heishi ; famous for production of early firearms.
  • To clan – cadet branch of the Chiba clan who descend from the Taira clan.
  • Toda clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Tōdō clan – clan of humble origins founded by Tōdō Takatora, who was a highly trusted commander under Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
  • Toki clan – descended from the Settsu Genji, branch of Seiwa Genji.
  • Tokugawa clan – descended from Tokugawa Ieyasu from Matsudaira clan; famous for Tokugawa shogunate.
  • * Tokugawa Shōgun family – head family.
  • ** Tokugawa family of Kōfu – descended from Tokugawa Tsunashige, 3rd son of Tokugawa Iemitsu.
  • ** Tokugawa family of Tatebayashi – descended from Tokugawa Tsunayoshi.
  • ** Tokugawa Yoshinobu family – descended from Tokugawa Yoshinobu.
  • * Gosanke
  • ** Tokugawa family of Kishū – also known as Kii Tokugawa family; descended from Tokugawa Yorinobu, 10th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu; famous for Tokugawa Yoshimune and Tokugawa Iemochi.
  • ** Tokugawa family of Mito – descended from Tokugawa Yorifusa, 11th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu; famous for Tokugawa Mitsukuni.
  • *** Tokugawa family of Matsudo – cadet branch of Tokugawa family of Mito.
  • ** Tokugawa family of Owari – descended from Tokugawa Yoshinao, 9th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
  • * Gosankyō
  • ** Tokugawa family of Hitotsubashi – descended from Tokugawa Munetada, 4th son of Tokugawa Yoshimune.
  • ** Tokugawa family of Shimizu – descended from Tokugawa Shigeyoshi, 2nd son of Tokugawa Ieshige.
  • ** Tokugawa family of Tayasu – descended from Tokugawa Munetake, 2nd son of Tokugawa Yoshimune.
  • Tomuro clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Torii clan – descended from Taira no Yukinori.
  • Toyotomi clan – given to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his family.File:Goshichi_no_kiri_inverted.svg|thumb|150px|Mon of the Toyotomi clan. It is also used by the Japanese government.
  • Tsugaru clan – also known as Ōura clan; descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • Tsuru clan – descended from Takeda Kai clan.Guardians of Kyoto the Capital city.
  • Tsutsui clan – descended from Fujiwara clan; famous for Tsutsui Junkei.
  • Uesugi clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • * Uesugi family of Inukake – descended from Uesugi Norifuji.
  • * Uesugi family of Ōgigayatsu – descended from Uesugi Shigeaki.
  • * Uesugi family of Takuma – descended from Uesugi Shigeyoshi.
  • * Uesugi family of Yamanouchi – descended from Uesugi Noriaki; famous for Uesugi Kenshin.
  • ** Uesugi family of Fukaya – also known as Kobanawa Uesugi family; descended from Uesugi Norifusa.
  • Ukita clan – descended from Kojima Takanori of Seiwa Genji; famous for Ukita Hideie.
  • Urakami clan – descended from Emperor Kōgen by the Ki clan.
  • Utsunomiya clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • * Utsunomiya clan of Shimotsuke – head family.
  • * Utsunomiya clan of Buzen – cadet branch.
  • * Utsunomiya clan of Chikugo – cadet branch.
  • * Utsunomiya clan of Iyo – cadet branch.
  • Wakiya clan – cadet branch of Nitta clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Watanabe clan – descended from the Saga Genji.
  • Yagyū clan – descended from Sugawara clan; famous for their swordsmanship called Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.
  • Yamana clan – cadet branch of Nitta clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Yamanouchi clan – also known as Yamanouchi Sudō clan, descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • * Yamanouchi clan of Bingo – head family.
  • * Yamanouchi clan of Ōshū – cadet branch.
  • * Yamanouchi clan of Tosa – cadet branch; famous for Yamauchi Kazutoyo.
  • Yanagisawa clan – cadet branch of Takeda clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Yonekura clan – cadet branch of Takeda clan who descended from Seiwa Genji.
  • Yūki clan – descended from Fujiwara Hokke.
  • * Yūki clan of Shimousa – head family.
  • * Yūki clan of Shirakawa – cadet branch.