The Miyoshi clan is a Japanese family descended from Emperor Seiwa

Emperor Seiwa

was the 56th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Seiwa's reign spanned the years from 858 through 876.-Traditional narrative:...

 (850-880) and the Minamoto clan

Minamoto clan

was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period , although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era. The Taira were another such offshoot of...

 (Seiwa-Genji). They were a cadet branch of the Ogasawara clan

Ogasawara clan

The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a...

 and the Takeda clan.

At the beginning of the 14th century AD, Ogasawara Nagafusa settled in Shikoku. His descendant in the 8th generation settled in the district of Miyoshi (Awa province) and took the name of the place. They were great vassals of the Hosokawa clan

Hosokawa clan

The ' was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa and a branch of the Minamoto clan, by the Ashikaga clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate's administration. In the Edo period, the Hosokawa clan was one of the largest landholding daimyo families in Japan...

 then all powerful in Shikoku.

During the Sengoku, they controlled several provinces, including Settsu

Settsu Province

was a province of Japan, which today comprises the eastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture. It was also referred to as or .Osaka and Osaka Castle were the main center of the province.-History:...

 (present-day Kinki region) and Awa

Awa Province (Tokushima)

was an old province of Japan in the area that is today a part of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku. Awa was bordered by Tosa, Sanuki, and Iyo Provinces. It was sometimes called .-References:...

. Though they would fade from prominence, the Ogasawara

Ogasawara clan

The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a...

, a clan closely related to them, would continue as a major political force throughout the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

.

Among the retainers to the clan were Matsunaga Hisahide

Matsunaga Hisahide

Matsunaga Hisahide was a daimyo of Japan following the Sengoku period of the 16th century.A companion of Miyoshi Chokei, he was a retainer of Miyoshi Masanaga from the 1540s. He directed the conquest of the province of Yamato in the 1560s and by 1564 had built a sufficient power-base to be...

 and his son Hisamichi.

Notable clan members

• Miyoshi Yukinaga
• Miyoshi Nagahide
• Miyoshi Motonaga
• Miyoshi Nagayoshi
• Miyoshi Yoshikata
  Miyoshi Yoshikata
  , other name Miyoshi Yukiyasu , second son of Miyoshi Motonaga, was Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who served the Miyoshi clan. His other brothers were Miyoshi Nagayoshi , Atagi Fuyuyasu , Sogō Kazumasa and his son was Miyoshi Nagaharu....
  
  
• Sogō Kazumasa
  Sogo Kazumasa
  , other name Sogō Kazunari , fourth son of Miyoshi Motonaga, was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period who was a member of Miyoshi clan, daimyo of Kawachi province. Miyoshi Nagayoshi , Miyoshi Yukiyasu and Atagi Fuyuyasu are his elder brothers and Miyoshi Yoshitsugu is his son...
  
  
• Atagi Fuyuyasu
  Atagi Fuyuyasu
  , third son of Miyoshi Motonaga, brothers of Miyoshi Nagayoshi, Miyoshi Yukiyasu and Sogō Kazunari, was a Japanese samurai who lived in the Sengoku period. He was active in the Awaji region, and was also known as a poet. He had a son named Atagi Nobuyasu....
  
  
• Atagi Nobuyasu
  Atagi Nobuyasu
  was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the nephew of Miyoshi Chōkei.-References:*This article was compiled using corresponding content on the Japanese Wikipedia....
  
  
• Sogō Masayasu
• Sogō Nagahide
• Miyoshi Yoshitsugu
  Miyoshi Yoshitsugu
  , adopted son of Nagayoshi, was a samurai of the Sengoku period who was practically the last head of Miyoshi clan, daimyo of Kawachi province of Japan....
  
  
• Miyoshi Nagaharu
• Miyoshi Yoshioki
• Miyoshi Nagayasu
• Miyoshi Masayasu
• Iwanari Tomomichi
  Iwanari Tomomichi
  was a Japanese samurai of the 16th century. Also known as Ishinari Tomomichi , he was a retainer of the Miyoshi clan, and held the title of Chikara-no-suke...
  
  
• Miyoshi Yasunaga
• Miyoshi Masanaga
  Miyoshi Masanaga
  was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, a member of the Miyoshi clan who served as daimyo of Awa. He is remembered as the cousin of Miyoshi Chōkei. Masanaga had very strong relations with the Ikeda clan, as Ikeda Nagamasa was his son-in-law. Due to this strong relation between the families,...
  
  
• Miyoshi Hideyuki - Japan
  Japan
  Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
  
  ese politician
  Politician
  A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
  
   of the Shōwa period
  Showa period
  The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
  
  .