- Sō clan
The Sō (宗氏 "-shi") were a Japanese clan that ruled
Tsushima Island from theKamakura period until the end of theEdo period .History
Historians consider the Sō clan to have been an offshoot of the Koremune clan (惟宗氏), who served as local officials of
Dazaifu andTsushima Province . The Koremune had their start as governors of Tsushima following an incident in 1246, when theAbiru clan , local district officials ("zaichōkanjin ") on Tsushima, rebelled against theChinzei Bugyō and theDazaifu government which governed all ofKyūshū and the surrounding regions on behalf of theKamakura shogunate . Dazaifu ordered Koremune Shigehisa to stop the rebellion and to destroy the Abiru clan. He was rewarded for his victory with the post of "Jito " (local land steward), by theShōni clan , "shugo " (governors) of Tsushima [Abe, Takeshi and Yoshiko Nishimura (eds.) "Sengoku Jinmei Jiten". Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 1987. p453.] .The Koremune extended its influence on Tsushima over the course of the
Kamakura period , as the deputies of the Shōni. When the Mongols invaded Japan in 1274, clan headSō Sukekuni fought against the invaders and died on Tsushima. The Sō clan fought for the Shōni clan and for the AshikagaNorthern Court during theNanboku-chō period (1336-1392), and seized a portion ofChikuzen Province .Imagawa Ryōshun became "Chinzei Tandai" (head of the Dazaifu government) soon afterwards, and theImagawa clan became "shugo" of Tsushima. When Imagawa Ryōshun was dismissed from his post in 1395,Sō Sumishige became "shugo" of Tsushima.Though now holding the hereditary post of "shugo" of Tsushima, the clan remained vassals of the Shōni until the late 15th century. In the course of breaking away from the Shōni clan, the Sō clan started to claim that it originated with a grandson of
Taira no Tomomori ,Taira no Tomomune . The Sō clan moved its base from northern Kyūshū to Tsushima around 1408. Although it struggled to keep its territory in Chikuzen on Kyūshū, the clan was finally purged from that region by theŌuchi clan in the mid-15th century.From roughly the 1430s to the 1550s, the clan worked towards independence, its sights set on gaining true control of Tsushima, and on establishing friendly relations with
Joseon Dynasty Korea . The first of these goals was attained through a reversal of fate in which the Shōni came to rely upon the Sō for military aid against the Ōuchi.Sō Sadamori and his younger brotherSō Morikuni helped to defeat the Ōuchi over ten times, and in doing so deepened their clan's relationship with the traders and merchants of Hakata, one of Kyūshū's major ports.Being based on the mountainous island, the Sō clan heavily relied on trade with Korea. Fortunately, the Sō clan shared mutual interests with the Joseon Dynasty. In 1443, the clan signed the
Kakitsu Treaty with Korea, submitting to Koreansuzerainty in exchange for various privileges and benefits. The Sō were required to greatly reduce the number of pirate attacks on Korea, and in return would be granted a virtual monopoly on Japanese trade with their neighbors on the peninsula. This would later lead to the emergence of the Sō as one of the major clans in Japan, their wealth and power from trade more than making up for their small territory and submissive position vis-a-vis Korea.Alongside the Shōni clan, whose hereditary clan heads now regularly operated under Sō clan guidance, the Sō fought the Ōuchi numerous times across the
Sengoku period (1467-1600), and later the Mōri andŌtomo clan s as well; the clan lost and regained their territory in Chikuzen province on Kyūshū many times over the course of the period. In the end, the downfall of the Shōni, marked byShōni Fuyuhisa 's 1559 defeat at the hands ofRyūzōji Takanobu , brought an end to the Sō clan's territorial aspirations on Kyūshū.The Sō clan submitted itself to
Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1587 and supplied troops for theJapanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598) . Sōon afterwards, however, the clan took it upon themselves to repair relations with Korea, sending a number of envoys under the guise of being official shogunal envoys. In doing this, the clan sought to improve their position with both the shogunate and Korea. There is evidence that they altered official documents from both to make themselves look better to the other [*Nakamura, Shunsuke. " [http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200510270161.html A look at how an ancient clan forged ties with Korean dynasty] ." "Asahi Shimbun ". 27 Oct 2005.]Although the Sō fought against
Tokugawa Ieyasu at theBattle of Sekigahara in 1600, they were allowed to continue to rule Tsushima. Tsushima and the area around Tashiro inHizen Province were included in the clan's fief ("han"), rated as worth 100,000 "koku " for its diplomatic and economic importance, though its agricultural production was actually under 30,000 "koku" per year. After the clan managed to resume diplomatic relations with Korea, theTokugawa shogunate entrusted it with diplomatic negotiations and trade with Joseon.After the
abolition of the han system in 1871, the last known head of the clan, [some say the family has gone secret]Sō Shigemasa (Yoshiaki), was made Governor of Izuhara Prefecture (Tsushima, renamed), and given the title of Count ("hakushaku") in 1884.Clan lords of Sō family
#
Sō Shigehisa (重尚)(1245-1262) - fought against the Abiru/Ahiru clan (阿比留在庁) and became Governor of Tsushima
#Sō Sukekuni (助國) (1262-1274) - fought Mongolian invasion force and died in 1274
#Sō Moriakira (盛明) (1274-1302)
#Sō Morikuni (盛國) (1302-1349)
#Sō Tsuneshige (經茂) (1349-1366)
#Sō Sumishige (澄茂) (1366-1370)
#Sō Yorishige (頼茂) (1370-1402)
#Sō Sadashige (貞茂) (1402-1419)
#Sō Sadamori (貞盛) (1419-1452) - fought the Korean army led byYi Jong Mu during theOei Invasion and entered into relations with theJoseon Dynasty
#Sō Shigemoto (成職) (1452-1468) - granted "Governor of Tsushima" title by the Joseon Court in 1461.
#Sō Sadakuni (貞國) (1468-1492)
#Sō Kimori (材盛) (1492-1505)
#Sō Yoshimori (義盛) (1505-1520) - The Sō Clan supported a Japanese traders' uprising, against Joseon's policies, known as "Three-Ports incident" (三浦の乱).
#Sō Morinaga (盛長) (1520-1526)
#Sō Masamori (将盛) (1526-1539)
#Sō Haruyasu (晴康) (1539-1553)
#Sō Yoshishige (義調) (1553-1566)
#Sō Shigehisa (茂尚) (1566-1569)
#Sō Yoshizumi (義純) (1569-1579)
#So Terukage (昭景)(1579-1589) - he submitted himself toToyotomi Hideyoshi in 1587.
#So Yoshishige (義調) (1589-1592)
#Sō Yoshitoshi (義智) (1592-1615) - he was a daimyo under the commander ofKonishi Yukinaga during theImjin War (1592-1598).
#Sō Yoshinari (義成) (1615-1657)
#Sō Yoshizane (義真) (1657-1692)
#Sō Yoshitsugu (義倫) (1692-1694)
#Sō Yoshimichi (義方) (1694-1718)
#Sō Yoshinobu (義誠) (1718-1730)
#Sō Michihiro (方熙) (1730-1732)
#Sō Yoshiyuki (義如) (1732-1752)
#Sō Yoshishige (義蕃) (1752-1762)
#Sō Yoshinaga (義暢) (1762-1778)
#Sō Yoshikatsu (義功) (1778-1785)
#Sō Yoshikatsu (義功) (1785-1812)
#Sō Yoshitada (義質) (1812-1838)
#Sō Yoshiaya (義章) (1838-1842)
#Sō Yoshinori (義和) (1842-1862)
#Sō Yoshiaki (義達) (1862-"1872")
#Sō Shigemochi (重望) ("1872"-"1923")
#Sō Takeyuki (武志) ("1923"-"1985") - he was married toDeokhye, Princess of Korea , from 1931 to 1953References
*Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
*Sansom, George (1961). "A History of Japan: 1334-1615." Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
*Sansom, George (1963). "A History of Japan: 1615-1867." Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
*ja icon [http://www.ofn-js.town.mitsushima.nagasaki.jp/homepage/h17/homepage/sougou/ikikata/ikikata%202.htm List of daimyos]
*ja icon [http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~kurose/rekishinenpyo1.htm Time table]
*ja icon [http://www.myj7000.jp-biz.net/clan/01/011/01102c.htm Genealogy Tree of So Clan]
*ja icon [http://www.myj7000.jp-biz.net/clan/03/03003.htm Relationships between Koremune, So and Shimazu clans]
*ja icon [http://www.joy.hi-ho.ne.jp/takamine/rekisi/shosizoku/shohan/hata/sou.htm Genealogy Tree of So Clan]
*ja icon [http://members2.jcom.home.ne.jp/sengokubusyou/sousikeizu.htm Genealogy Tree of So Clan]
*ja icon [http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/html/sou_k.html Genealogy Tree of So Clan]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.