- Saionji family
The Saionji family (西園寺家, "-ke") was a Japanese "
kuge " (court aristocrat) family related to theNorthern Fujiwara branch of theFujiwara clan and theImadegawa clan .The family's name was taken from that of the family's formal residence in
Kyoto , and its "kamon " (crest) was a "tomoe ".History
The family was descended from
Saionji Michisue (1090-1128), son ofFujiwara no Kinzane . In the time of Michisue's great-grandsonSaionji Kintsune (1171-1244),Minamoto no Yoritomo 's niece was married into the Saionji family, thus giving the Kamakura shoguns of theMinamoto clan some influence in, and protection from, the Imperial Court. Members of the Saionji family began to be appointed "Kantō Mōshitsugi ", acting alongside the "Rokuhara Tandai " to manage communications and relations between the shogunate and the Court. This began the family's rise to important Court positions, including posts as high as "Dajō Daijin " (Chancellor of the Realm). Ever since Kintsune's time, the family, with the support of the Kamakura shogunate, could exert influence over even the Imperial regents, theSesshō and Kampaku .The family made its formal residence in the Kitayama (northern mountains) area of Kyoto; the residence was likewise called Saionji, meaning "Western Garden Temple." Thus the family came to be sometimes known as the Lords of Kitayama; when
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu becameshogun in 1368, he coopted the site for hisKinkakuji , thus laying some claim to a connection to the Saionji and to their prestige as Lords of Kitayama.Saionji Sanekane joined the family to theDaikakuji line of the Imperial family, having become involved with the daughter ofEmperor Go-Daigo orEmperor Kameyama and siring a son,Saionji Kinhira . Several decades later, in the time ofSaionji Kinmune , the Kamakura shogunate came to an end, and the Saionji were dismissed from their post as "Kantō Mōshitsugi". Kinmune helped hide the persecutedHōjō Yasuie and, in the wake of the death of Emperor Go-Daigo, helped plot to setEmperor Go-Fushimi on the throne. His schemes revealed by his younger brotherSaionji Kinshige , Kinmune was arrested and executed. During theNanboku-chō period (1336-1392) which followed, in which the two Imperial lines jousted for power, Kinmune's sonSaionji Sanetoshi served theNorthern Court as Minister of the Right ("Udaijin "), restoring the prestige of the family's name.A Saionji family is known to have existed in
Edo period (1600-1868) Kyoto, as producers of "biwa ".Saionji Saneharu was made Minister of the Left ("Sadaijin "), and gained influence and some financial support through connections to the Hosokawa andNagaoka clan s. Towards the end of the Edo period,Saionji Kinmochi was adopted into the family from the closely related Tokudaiji branch of the Fujiwara clan. Kinmochi lived through theMeiji Restoration , becoming one of the "genrō ", or elder statesmen who were a part of the original Meiji government at its beginning. He subsequently held a number of Cabinet posts, becomingPrime Minister of Japan in 1906.As members of the "
kazoku " (Western-style system ofpeerage ), the Saionji maintained a considerable degree of prestige, and continued to be close to the world of politics, through the end ofWorld War II , when the "kazoku" were dissolved. The family continues today, and Saionji remains a not uncommon Japanese surname.Family members of note
*
Saionji Michisue (1090-1128)
*Saionji Kintsune (1171-1244)
*Saionji Kinuji (1194-1269)
*Saionji Sanekane
*Saionji Kinhira (1264-1315)
*Saionji Reishi (1292-1357)
*Saionji Kinmune (1310-1335)
*Saionji Kinshige
*Saionji Sanetoshi
*Saionji Sanemitsu (1510-1565)
*Saionji Kinhiro (1537-1587)
*Saionji Saneharu (1601-1673)
*Saionji Kinmochi (1849-1940)References
*"This article is derived primarily from the content of the corresponding article on the Japanese Wikipedia."
*Sansom, George (1958). 'A History of Japan to 1334'. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp405-6ff.
*Sansom, George (1961). "A History of Japan: 1334-1615." Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
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