Imagawa clan

Imagawa 今川
The emblem (mon) of the Imagawa clan
Home province	Mikawa Suruga Tōtōmi
Parent house	Ashikaga clan
Titles	Various
Founder	Imagawa Kuniji (Ashikaga Kuniuji)
Founding year	13th century
Cadet branches	Horikoshi clan Sena clan

Imagawa clan (Japanese: 今川氏, Hepburn: Imagawa-uji) was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji by way of the Kawachi Genji. It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan.

Origins

Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in the 13th century at Imagawa (Mikawa Province) and took its name.

Imagawa Norikuni (1295–1384) received from his cousin the shōgun Ashikaga Takauji the province of Tōtōmi, and later that of Suruga.

Located at

Ounami no Kori, Mikawa (modern day Nishio, Aichi) mainly Suruga Province and Tōtōmi Province during the Warring States period

Crests

• Two hikiryou
• Yoshimoto's version of the akaitori (pictured)
• Two hikiryou and a paulownia planted in white soil

Major figures

• Imagawa Sadayo
• Imagawa Yoshitada
• Imagawa Ujichika
• Imagawa Ujiteru
• Imagawa Yoshimoto
• Imagawa Ujizane

Muromachi era

• Imagawa Sadayo, was a renowned Japanese poet and military commander who served as tandai ("constable") of Kyūshū under the Ashikaga bakufu from 1371 to 1395.

Sengoku era

After the death of Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, during the Sengoku period, many Imagawa officers defected to other clans. Within a decade, the clan had lost all of its land holdings to the Tokugawa and Takeda clans. The Imagawa subsequently became masters of ceremonies in the service of the Tokugawa clan.^[1]

Clan castles

Separated by province name.

• Suruga Province: Imagawa Kan (later known as Sunpu Castle), Shizuhatayama Castle, Mochifune Castle, Tanaka Castle
• Tōtōmi Province: Kakegawa Castle, Takatenjin Castle (ja), Futamada Castle, Inui Castle, Hamamatsu Castle, Utsuyama Castle.
• Mikawa Province: Yoshida Castle, Tahara Castle, Okazaki Castle, Anshō Castle
• Owari Province: Katsukake Castle, Ōtaka Castle, Narumi Castle

Edo period

• Shinagawa Takahisa, the son of Imagawa Ujizane. He was a hatamoto and served the Tokugawa clan.
• Imagawa Norinobu, an Imagawa of the late Edo period, was a wakadoshiyori in the Tokugawa administration.

Key genealogies

Suruga

Tōtōmi

Tōtōmi (Horikoshi branch)

Tōtōmi (Sena branch)

Notable members

• Jukei-ni
• Lady Tsukiyama
• Lady Hayakawa

Notable retainers

Popular culture

Imagawa is a playable nation in Europa Universalis IV.

Notes

References

• (in Japanese) "Suruga Imagawa-shi" on Harimaya.com (12 July 2008)