Satomi clan
After the fall of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333, the Kantō region was high unstable due to incessant conflict between the "Kantō kubō" under Ashikaga Shigeuji based in Kamakura and the Ashikaga shogunate, represented by the "Kantō Kanrei" under Uesugi Noritada. The minor lords of Awa Province (present-day southern Chiba Prefecture ) were loyal to the "Kanrei", but geographically, the province was very near Kamakura, separated only by the narrow Uraga Channel. To seize Awa Province, the "Kantō kubō" sent the Satomi clan under Satomi Yoshizane (1412-1488), who landed at Shirahama from which he gradually expanded to conquer the province. Satomi Yoshizane claimed to be the chieftain of the Satomi clan, but his ancestry is somewhat uncertain. His descendants are known as at the "Awa Satomi clan", and cadet branches of the clan existed in Dewa, Echigo, and Mino Province.