Hatakeyama clan


The Hatakeyama clan was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim to political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Shigetada later were killed in battle by Hōjō forces in Kamakura. After 1205 the Hatakeyama came to be descendants of the Ashikaga clan, who were in turn descended from Emperor Seiwa and the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan.

History

The first family being extinct in 1205, Ashikaga Yoshizumi, son of Ashikaga Yoshikane, was chosen by Hōjō Tokimasa to revive the name of Hatakeyama. He married Tokimasa's daughter, the widow of Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, and inherited the domains of the Hatakeyama. Thus the new family descended from the Minamoto.
The clan was an ally of the Ashikaga shogunate against the Southern Court during the wars of the Nanboku-chō period, and was rewarded by the shogunate with the hereditary position of shugo of the provinces of Yamashiro, Kii, Kawachi, Etchū, and Noto, at the end of the 14th century. During the 15th century, the members of the Hatakeyama clan held, although not exclusively, the title of kanrei, holding great influence over the Imperial Court at Kyoto. Around 1450, there was a split in the clan, and the internal conflict weakened the clan as a whole, causing it to lose the position of kanrei to the Hosokawa clan. This split began with a feud between Hatakeyama Masanaga and Hatakeyama Yoshinari over succession to the position; it quickly grew, as each side gained allies, and was one of the sparks that ignited the Ōnin War.
Nevertheless, the Hatakeyama maintained enough strength and unity to become some of Oda Nobunaga's chief adversaries in Kyoto, a hundred years later.

Sengoku period

By the time of the Sengoku period, the Hatakeyama clan had split into many scattered branches. The most notable of these resided in Kawachi, Mutsu, and Noto provinces.
The Kawachi-Hatakeyama were split into two main rival branches descended from Hatakeyama Masanaga and Hatakeyama Yoshinari. The Mutsu-Hatakeyama held Nihonmatsu Castle saw its power gradually diminish over the course of the Sengoku period, becoming vassals of the Ashina clan.
The Mutsu-Hatakeyama frequently clashed with the Date clan until they were largely destroyed by Date Masamune in 1586 following the Battle of Hitotoribashi.
The Noto-Hatakeyama were based at Nanao Castle and fell from power as an independent house in the 1570s due to internal strife.

Selected clan members of note