Satomi clan
Historically the Mineoka Mountain District was part of Awa Province and the southern part of Kazusa Province in pre-modern Japan. Numerous shrines and temples were constructed as early as the Nara period, and many of them remain active to this day. Under the Ritsuryō system of Nara-period Japan it is thought the area was used for extensive pasture land for horses. During the Sengoku period these small-scale ranches were revived by the Satomi clan, a powerful clan based in Awa Province.