Kikuchi clan
His father, Takenaga, came from a branch of the Kikuchi clan that were koku-jin-ryōshū (ji-samurai) in Hōki Province. The relationship with the Kikuchi clan of Higo Province is unclear but in the Hayashi clan genealogy Takenaga is the son of Kikuchi Takekuni (菊池武国) of Higo but this is impossible because of the years of birth. Scholars now believe he must have been a grandson of Takekuni. The Kikuchi clan in Higo were overthrown by the Ōtomo clan, another powerful family of Kyūshū.