The Kuno clan (Japanese: 久野氏, Hepburn: Kuno-shi) was a Japanese samurai clan who were a prominent Jizamurai (国人 kokujin) family of Tōtōmi Province during the Muromachi period and Sengoku period. They first served the Imagawa clan (今川氏) for generations but later became retainers of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The surname is sometimes written as "久努", "久奴" or "久能".

Kuno clan
久野
Kuno clan mon
Home provinceTōtōmi
Parent house Fujiwara clan
Kudō clan
Titlesvarious
FounderKuno Munenaka
Final rulerKuno Sumitaka
Founding year13th century
Ruled until1868 (Meiji Restoration)

Origins

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Early in the Kamakura period, Kuno Munenaka (久野宗仲) moved to Kuno, Tōtōmi Province and took the place name as his surname founding the Kuno clan. There are several different genealogies of the Kuno clan and it is unknown which is the correct one. In most cases they descend from the Southern House of the Fujiwara clan (藤原南家 Fujiwara Nanke).[1]

Fujiwara Nanke

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The Kuno clan of Tōtōmi Province was a branch of the Kudō clan (工藤氏) which descended from the Southern House of the Fujiwara clan (藤原南家 Fujiwara Nanke). The founder of Fujiwara's Southern House was Fujiwara no Muchimaro (680–737). His fifth generation great-grandson, Fujiwara no Tamenori (藤原為憲), founded the Kudō clan. In this genealogy the founder of the Kuno clan, Kuno Munenaka (久野宗仲), is a son of Kudō Kiyonaka (工藤清仲).

Hata clan

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Another theory is that the Kuno are descendants of the Hata clan (秦氏), an immigrant family who claimed descent from the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang.

Another theory

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In the Seishi-kakei-daijiten (姓氏家系大辞典) family compilation it is in fact recorded that the Kuno clan descend from Kuno Nao (久奴直).

Clan Heads

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Order Name Japanese Lifetime Titles/AKA Lineage
1 Kuno Munenaka 久野宗仲 ? – ? Kudō Munenaka (工藤宗仲) son of Kudō Kiyonaka (工藤清仲)
2 Kuno Takakage 久野忠景 ? – ? also Tadamune (忠宗) son of #1
3 Kuno Kiyomune 久野清宗 ? – ? son of #2
4 Kuno Kiyonari 久野清成 ? – ? son of #3
5 Kuno Munemasa 久野宗政 ? – ? son of #4
6 Kuno Saburōuemon 久野三郎右衛門 ? – ? son of #5
7 Kuno Tadakiyo 久野忠清 ? – ? son of #6
8 Kuno Munehiro 久野宗弘 ? – ? son of #7
9 Kuno Tadamune 久野忠宗 ? – ? also Munetaka (宗隆) son of #8
10 Kuno Motomune 久野元宗 ? –1560 son of #9
11 Kuno Muneyoshi 久野宗能 1527–1609 younger brother of #10
12 Kuno Munenari 久野宗成 1582–1625 Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Tanba-no-kami (丹波守) grandson of #11
13 Kuno Muneharu 久野宗晴 1609–1649 Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下) son of #12
14 Kuno Munetoshi 久野宗俊 1643–1706 Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Tanba-no-kami (丹波守), Izumi-no-kami (和泉守) son of #13
15 Kuno Toshimasa 久野俊正 1674–1726 Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Izumi-no-kami (和泉守), Bingo-no-kami (備後守) son of #14
16 Kuno Toshizumi 久野俊純 1705–1772 Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Tanba-no-kami (丹波守), 号華峯 son of #15
17 Kuno Teruzumi 久野輝純 1745–1811 Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Izumi-no-kami (和泉守), Ōmi-no-kami (近江守) son of #16
18 Kuno Masazumi 久野昌純 1787–1823 son of #17
19 Kuno Zumikata 久野純固 1815–1873 Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Tanba-no-kami (丹波守) son of #18

See also

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Notes

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References

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  • The Origins of Japan's Medieval World: Courtiers, Clerics, Warriors, and Peasants in the Fourteenth Century by Jeffrey P. Mass
  • Shōyūki (982-1032), written by Fujiwara no Sanesuke
  • The Last Samurai: the Life and Battles of Saigō Takamori. John Wiley & Sons, 2004. (ISBN 0471089702)
  • Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan. Stanford University Press, 1999. (ISBN 0804728984)
  • The Tale of the Heike (平家物語 Heike Monogatari)
  • (1961). A History of Japan, 1334–1615. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0525-7
  • Hakata Nikki
  • Delmer M. Brown (ed.), ed (1993). The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge University Press. pp. 140–149.; George Sansom, A History of Japan to 1334, Stanford University Press, 1958. p. 47. ISBN 0-8047-0523-2
  • Hurusato (Old Country) Tokushu Sengoku Jidai Sera-gun de Katsuyaku shita Shitobito (People of Sera-gun in the Sengoku Era). Kosan-cho Culture Association, 722–0411, Sera-gun, Kosan-cho, Utsu-do 2296-2 Kurahashi Sumio's House. Report Hurusato #3 Published March 1, 2000.