Tachibana clan (kuge)
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| Tachibana clan 橘氏 | |
|---|---|
 The emblem (mon) of the Tachibana clan | |
| Parent house | Imperial House of Japan |
| Titles | Various |
| Founder | Agata no Inukai no Michiyo |
| Founding year | 708 |
| Cadet branches |
|
Tachibana clan (橘氏, Tachibana-uji, Tachibana-shi) was one of the four most powerful kuge (court nobility) families in Japan's Nara and early Heian periods. Members of the Tachibana family often held high court posts within the Daijō-kan (Ministry of State), most frequently Sadaijin (Minister of the Left). Like the other major families at court, they also constantly sought to increase and secure their power by marrying into the imperial family. However, as the Fujiwara clan gained power over the course of the 9th and 10th centuries, the Tachibana were eclipsed and eventually became scattered across the country. Though serving in high government posts outside the capital, they were thus denied the degree of power and influence within the court at Kyoto (Heian-kyō) which they once enjoyed.
The name of Tachibana was bestowed on Agata-no-Inukai no Michiyo by Empress Genmei in 708. She was the wife of , a descendant of Emperor Bidatsu and mothered Princes Katsuragi and Sai. She later married Fujiwara no Fuhito and bore Kōmyōshi (Empress Kōmyō). In 736, Princes Katsuragi and Sai were given the surname Tachibana, renouncing their imperial family membership. They became Tachibana no Moroe and respectively.
Over the course of the Heian period, they engaged in countless struggles with the Fujiwara family for domination of court politics, and thus essentially for control of the nation; on a number of occasions this developed into outright violent conflict. One of these conflicts was the uprising of Fujiwara no Sumitomo in 939–941. Though the rebellion was ultimately suppressed, the Tachibana family was scattered in the process, and lost much of its power.
Another branch family developed in Iyo Province, becoming known as the Iyo Tachibana family. , who executed Fujiwara no Sumitomo, was the progenitor of this branch; Kusunoki Masashige, a celebrated pro-Imperial commander of the 14th century, claimed descent from Tōyasu.
Significant members[]
- Tachibana no Moroe (橘諸兄) - Son of Michiyo; also known as Katsuragi no Ō-kimi (葛城王)
- (橘佐為) - Son of Michiyo; also known as Sai no Ō-kimi (佐為王)
- (牟漏女王) － Daughter of Michiyo; wife of Fujiwara no Fusasaki
- Tachibana no Naramaro (橘奈良麻呂) － Eldest son of Moroe
- (橘島田麿) － Son of Naramaro
- (橘清友) － Son of Naramaro
- Tachibana no Kachiko (橘嘉智子) － Daughter of Kiyotomo, Empress to Emperor Saga
- (橘氏公) － Son of Kiyotomo
- 橘岑継 － Son of Ujikimi
- Tachibana no Hayanari (橘逸勢) － Poet, calligrapher; one of the Sanpitsu
- (橘広相) － Scholar, five generations from Moroe; Served Emperors Yōzei, Kōkō, and Uda
- (?)(橘公材) － Second son of Hiromi
- (橘公頼) － Fifth son of Hiromi; (a post akin to Governor of Kyūshū); fought Fujiwara no Sumitomo's younger brother
- (源久直) － Member of the line of the
- (橘敏通) － Third son of Kimiyori; played an important role in fighting Fujiwara no Sumitomo and Suminori; lord of Chikugo province and founder of the Chikugo (Kyūshū) branch of the Tachibana
- (千観) － Fourth son of Kimiyori; preacher of Jodo Shu (Pure Land Buddhism)
- Tachibana no Yoshiyuki (橘善行) － Also known by the Buddhist name Shōkū; founder of
- (蔵賀) － Lived on
- Kōkei (皇慶) － Priest of Esoteric Buddhism
- Tachibana no Nagayasu (橘永愷) － Poet; also known by Buddhist name Nōin
- (橘道貞) － worked with Fujiwara no Michinaga
- (小式部内侍) － Poet; daughter of Michisada
- (橘為仲) － Poet
- (橘遠保) － Formerly of the , founder of the Iyo Tachibana branch; played an important role in fighting Fujiwara no Sumitomo
- (橘 勇)- medicine, son of Sachiko
- (橘遠茂) － (governor) of Suruga; descendant of Tōyasu (Iyo branch)
- (橘公長) － executioner of Taira no Munemori
- (橘公業) － Son of Kiminaga; founder of
- (橘成季) － Served Kujō Michiie
- (源久直) － Member of the line of the Minamoto clan; founder of Kamachi family from the Chikugo Tachibana branch
References[]
- Most of this article's content is derived from the information on the Japanese Wikipedia.
- Japanese clans
- Imperial House of Japan