The Ogasawara clan (小笠原氏, Ogasawara-shi?) was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano province in the medieval period (c. 1185–1600), and as daimyō (feudal lords) of territories on Kyūshū during the Edo period (1600–1867).
During the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, the clan controlled Shinano province, while related clans controlled the provinces of Awa, Bizen, Bitchū, Iwami, Mikawa, Tōtōmi and Mutsu. According to some theories, the Miyoshi clan was descended from the Ogasawara clan.
The clan developed a number of schools of martial arts during this period, known as Ogasawara-ryū, and contributed to the codification of bushido etiquette.
Towards the end of the Sengoku period (late 16th century), the clan opposed both Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
During the Edo period, the Ogasawara were identified as one of the fudai or insider daimyō clans which were hereditary vassels or allies of the Tokugawa, in contrast with the tozama or outsider clans.
Read more about Ogasawara Clan: Ogasawara Clan Branches, Ogasawara-Miyoshi Line, Notable Clan Members, Ogasawara Islands (Bonin Islands)
Famous quotes containing the word clan:
“We cannot think of a legitimate argument why ... whites and blacks need be affected by the knowledge that an aggregate difference in measured intelligence is genetic instead of environmental.... Given a chance, each clan ... will encounter the world with confidence in its own worth and, most importantly, will be unconcerned about comparing its accomplishments line-by-line with those of any other clan. This is wise ethnocentricism.”
—Richard Herrnstein (1930–1994)