Minamoto clan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Minamoto
源氏
Daimyō, Kuge, Daijō-daijin, Sadaijin, Udaijin, Kazoku, and others
FounderMinamoto no Makoto (first recorded)
Founding yearMay 814 (1209 years ago)
Ruled untilstill extant
Cadet branches

Minamoto (源) was a

Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility since 814.[1][2][3] Several noble lines were bestowed the surname, the most notable of which was the Seiwa Genji, whose descendants established the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates following the Heian era. The Minamoto was one of the four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period in Japanese history—the other three were the Fujiwara, the Taira, and the Tachibana.[4][5]

In the late Heian period, Minamoto rivalry with the Taira culminated in the

Shōgun in 1192, ushering in the Kamakura period (1192–1333 AD) of Japanese history. The name "Genpei" comes from alternate readings of the kanji
"Minamoto" (源 Gen) and "Taira" (平 Hei).

The Kamakura Shogunate was overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo in the Kenmu Restoration of 1333. Three years later the Kenmu government would then itself be overthrown by the Ashikaga clan, descendants of the Seiwa Genji who established the Ashikaga shogunate (1333 to 1573).

The Minamoto clan is also called the Genji (源氏, "Minamoto clan"), or less frequently, the Genke (源家, "House of Minamoto"), using the On'yomi readings of gen (源) for "Minamoto", while shi or ji (氏) means "clan", and ke (家) is used as a suffix for "extended family".[6]

History

The

Heian-Kyō (modern Kyōto).[9]: 240–241 Mitsunaka's eldest son, Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948–1021), became the protégé of Fujiwara no Michinaga; another son, Minamoto no Yorinobu (968–1048) suppressed the rebellion of Taira no Tadatsune in 1032. Yorinobu's son, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (988–1075), and grandson, Minamoto no Yoshiie (1039–1106), pacified most of northeastern Japan between 1051 and 1087.[9]

Emperor Saga (786 – 842)

The Seiwa Genji's fortunes declined in the

Kamakura—Kamakura shogunate.[9]
: 275, 259–260, 289–305, 331 

Minamoto no Makoto (810 – 868)

The later

Takeda, and Tokugawa (founders of the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period) clans claim descents from the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji branch).[10][11]

The domain of the Minamoto clan in Japan (1183) during the Genpei War

The protagonist of the classical Japanese novel The Tale of Genji (The Tale of Minamoto clan)—Hikaru Genji, was bestowed the name Minamoto for political reasons by his father the emperor and was delegated to civilian life and a career as an imperial officer.

The Genpei War is also the subject of the early Japanese epic The Tale of the Heike (Heike Monogatari).[12]

Members of the Minamoto clan (Genji clan)

Even within royalty there was a distinction between princes with the title shinnō (親王), who could ascend to the throne, and princes with the title ō (王), who were not members of the line of imperial succession but nevertheless remained members of the royal class (and therefore outranked members of Minamoto clans). The bestowing of the Minamoto name on a (theretofore-)prince or his descendants excluded them from the royal class altogether, thereby operating as a reduction in legal and social rank even for ō-princes not previously in the line of succession.

Old silver coin with mon(emblem) of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji), found in Edo period

Many later clans were formed by members of the Minamoto clan, and in many early cases, progenitors of these clans are known by either family name. There are also known monks of Minamoto descent; these are often noted in genealogies but did not carry the clan name (in favour of a dharma name).

Kabuto attached with Mon (emblem) of Minamoto clan (sasa-rindou)

The Minamoto is the ancestor and parent clan of many notable descendant clans, some of which are Ashikaga, Tokugawa, Matsudaira, Nitta, Takeda, Shimazu, Sasaki, Akamatsu, Kitabatake, Tada, Ota, Toki, Yamana, Satomi, Hosokawa, Satake, Yamamoto, Hemi, Ogasawara, Yasuda, Takenouchi, Hiraga, Imagawa, Miyake, etc.[13]

There were 21 branches of the clan, each named after the emperor from whom it descended. Some of these lineages were populous, but a few did not produce descendants.

Saga Genji

The Saga Genji are descendants of

buke. Clans such as the Watanabe, Matsuura, and Kamachi descend from the Saga Genji.[14]

Murasaki Shikibu composing Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji
)

Noted Saga Genji and descendants include:

History records indicate that at least three of Emperor Saga's daughters were also made Minamoto (Minamoto no Kiyohime, Minamoto no Sadahime, and Minamoto no Yoshihime), but few records concerning his daughters are known.

Minamoto no Tsuna cutting the arm off the demon Ibaraki

Ninmyō Genji

They were descendants of

udaijin. Among Hikaru's descendants was Minamoto no Atsushi, adoptive father of the Saga Genji's Watanabe no Tsuna and father of the Seiwa Genji's Minamoto no Mitsunaka
's wife.

Montoku Genji

These were descendants of

sadaijin, and among his descendants were the Sakado clan who were Hokumen no Bushi
.

Seiwa Genji

Main article: Seiwa Genji

These were descendants of

buke. His descendants set up the Kamakura shogunate, making his a prestigious pedigree claimed by many buke, particularly for the direct descendants in the Ashikaga clan (that set up the Ashikaga shogunate) and the rival Nitta clan. Centuries later, Tokugawa Ieyasu would claim descent from the Seiwa Genji by way of the Nitta clan.[14]

Portrait of Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159–1189)

Yōzei Genji

These were descendants of Emperor Yōzei. While Minamoto no Tsunemoto is termed the ancestor of the Seiwa Genji, there is evidence (rediscovered in the late 19th century by Hoshino Hisashi) suggesting that he was actually the grandson of Emperor Yōzei rather than of Emperor Seiwa. This theory is not widely accepted as fact, but as Yōzei was deposed for reprehensible behaviour, there would have been a compelling motive to claim descent from more auspicious origins if it were the case.

Kōkō Genji

Minamoto no Tsunemoto (894–961)

These were descendants of Emperor Kōkō. The great-grandson of his firstborn Prince Koretada, Kōshō, was the ancestor of a line of busshi, from which various styles of Buddhist sculpture emerged. Kōshō's grandson Kakujo established the Shichijō Bussho workshop.

Uda Genji

These were descendants of

buke the Sasaki clan of the Ōmi Genji, and the Izumo Genji
.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948–1021)

Daigo Genji

These were descendants of

sadaijin, but his downfall came during the Anna incident. Takaakira's descendants include the Okamoto and Kawajiri clans. Daigo's grandson Minamoto no Hiromasa
was a reputed musician.

Murakami Genji

These were descendants of

udaijin and had many descendants, among them several houses of dōjō kuge. Until the Ashikaga clan took it during the Muromachi period, the title of Genji no Chōja
always fell to one of Morofusa's progeny.

Painting of Minamoto no Sanetomo (1192–1219) – Kamakura Udaijin

Reizei Genji

These were descendants of Emperor Reizei. Though they are included among the listing of 21 Genji lineages, no concrete record of the names of his descendants made Minamoto is known to survive.

Kazan Genji

These were descendants of

Jingi-kan for centuries, responsible for the centralised aspects of Shinto
.

A portrait of Minamoto no Yoshinaka (1154–1184)

Sanjō Genji

These were descendants of Emperor Sanjō's son Prince Atsuakira. Starting with one of them, Minamoto no Michisue, the position of Ōkimi-no-kami (chief genealogist of the imperial family) in the Ministry of the Imperial Household was passed down hereditarily.

Go-Sanjō Genji

These were descendants of

Tale of the Heike, was allegedly Arihito's grandson (according to the Genpei Jōsuiki
).

Minamoto no Yoriie (1182–1204)

Go-Shirakawa Genji

This line consisted solely of Emperor Go-Shirakawa son Mochihito-ō (Takakura-no-Miya). As part of the succession dispute that led to the opening hostilities of the Genpei War, he was declassed (renamed "Minamoto no Mochimitsu") and exiled.

Juntoku Genji

These were descendants of

sadaijin with the help of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
.

Minamoto no Yorinobu (968–1048)

Go-Saga Genji

This line consisted solely of

shōgun (the seventh of the Kamakura shogunate) at a young age, and was renamed "Minamoto no Koreyasu
" a few years later. After he was deposed, he regained royal status, and became a monk soon after, thereby losing the Minamoto name.

A wooden signboard with a family crest of Minamoto clan (sasa-rindou)

Go-Fusakusa Genji

These were descendants of

shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate). Hisaaki's sons Prince Morikuni (the next shōgun) and Prince Hisayoshi were made Minamoto. Hisayoshi's adopted "nephew" (actually Nijō Michihira's son) Muneaki became a gon-dainagon (acting dainagon
).

Ōgimachi Genji

These were non-royal descendants of

buke, but they later became dōjō-ke, the Hirohata family
.

Legacy

Historical periods and cities founding

The statue of Amida Buddha at Kōtoku-in, Kamakura

Shinto shrines founding

Shinmon of Rokusonnō Shrine in Kyoto

Literature and arts

Seated Portrait of Minamoto no Yoritomo - Important Cultural Property in Tokyo National Museum
  • The Tale of Genji (源氏物語, Genji monogatari, The Tale of the Minamoto clan) by Murasaki Shikibu, an important 11th-century classical Japanese novel.
    Genji monogatari
  • The Tale of the Heike (平家物語, Heike Monogatari, The Tale of house of Taira), a 14th-century epic poetry compiled of the struggle between the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185).

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "...the Minamoto (1192-1333)" Warrior Rule in Japan, page 11. Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^
    ISBN 9784121025739
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 9784827312409
    .
  4. OCLC 47462068
    .
  5. ISBN 9780674017535
    .
  6. ISBN 9780520076020
    .
  7. ^ Frederic, Louis (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  8. ISBN 978-1-4408-0394-9
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 0804705232
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5
    .
  11. ISBN 978-3-7448-8682-6
    .
  12. ISBN 978-0-231-51083-7
    .
  13. ^ Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph (1906). Nobiliaire du Japon (PDF) (in French). Dortmund; München: Oliver Rost; Stefan Unterstein. pp. 3–73.
  14. ^
    ISBN 978-4-8040-1075-5
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minamoto clan.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Minamoto_clan&oldid=1219668112"