Nanbu clan The is a Japan ese samurai kin group History . The clan is descended from Takeda Yoshikiyo and the Seiwa - Genji . The Nanbu claimed descent from the Minamoto clan , and its members first enter the historical record as residents of Kai Province during the Kamakura period . The clan later moved to Mutsu . In the Sengoku period , the clan frequently clashed with its neighbors , including the Tsugaru clan , one of its branches which declared independence . The Nanbu clan was on the winning side of the Battle of Sekigahara , and entered the Edo period as the lordly ( daimyo ) family of the Morioka Domain . Over the course of the Edo period , several branch families were established , each of which received its own fief . During the Boshin War of 1868−69 , the Nanbu clan and its branches fought on the side of the Ouetsu Reppan Domei , the northern alliance of domains . After the collapse of the alliance , the Nanbu clan had much of its land confiscated , and in 1871 , the heads of its branches were relieved of office . In the Meiji era , they became part of the new nobility . The main Nanbu line survives to the present day ; its current head , Toshiaki Nanbu , is the chief priest of Yasukuni Shrine . Origins . The Nanbu clan claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji , via the Takeda clan of Kai Province . Minamoto no Mitsuyuki , the great - great grandson of Minamoto no Yoshimitsu , was the first to take the Nanbu name . He was established at Nambu in 1180 . The earliest written reference to the Nanbu region of Kai is in the late - 13th - century writings of the Buddhist monk Nichiren . Nanbokucho period . After the camplaign of Yoritomo against Fujiwara Yasuhira , Mitusyuki was given Sannohe Domain in Mutsu Province . The Nanbu established themselves in Mutsu in 1189 . They remained in the same place until the domain was abolished in 1871 . Sengoku and Azuchi - Momoyama era . In the Sengoku period , the Nanbu clan reached the zenith of its power under the headship of Nanbu Harumasa . Harumasa was very politically active , and corresponded with Oda Nobunaga . A major point of conflict for the Nanbu clan during these years was its relationship with the Ōura clan . The Ōura were a cadet branch of the Nanbu . They declared their independence from the Nanbu in 1571 , during the headship of Ōura Tamenobu . Tamenobu had been under the Nanbu clan ' s local magistrate Ishikawa Takanobu ; however , he attacked and killed Ishikawa and began taking the Nanbu clan ' s castles . Tamenobu also attacked Kitabatake Akimura ( another local power figure ) and took his castle at Namioka . The Ōura clan ' s fight against the Nanbu clan , under Nanbu Nobunao , would continue in the ensuing years . In 1590 , Tamenobu pledged fealty to Toyotomi Hideyoshi ; Hideyoshi confirmed Tamenobu in his holdings , effectively putting him out of the Nanbu clan ' s grasp . As the Ōura fief had been in the Tsugaru region on the northern tip of Honshū , the family then changed its name to Tsugaru . Nanbu Harumasa ' s heir Nobunao pledged allegiance to Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590 . Hideyoshi confirmed Nobunao ' s lordship over the Nanbu fief , and helped suppress an uprising by Nobunao ' s relative Kunohe Masazane . Nobunao thus helped to secure northern Honshū for Toyotomi Hideyoshi . Edo era . The Nanbu clan sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu ' s Eastern Army during the Battle of Sekigahara . In the wake of Ieyasu ' s victory , the Nanbu clan was confirmed in its lordship of the ( also known as the ) . The income rating was placed at 100 , 000 " koku " , but later in the Edo era , Morioka was given the political ranking of a domain twice its size . The Nanbu clan remained here for the entirety of the Edo Period , surviving until the Meiji Restoration . Over the course of the Edo period , three branches of the Nanbu clan were founded : In 1821 , the old tensions between the Nanbu and Tsugaru flared once more , in the wake of the , a foiled plot by Sōma Daisaku , a former retainer of the Nanbu clan , to assassinate the Tsugaru lord . The Nanbu clan ' s territories were also among those effected by the Tenpo famine of the mid - 1830s . Though no Nanbu lord ever held shogunate office , the Nanbu of Morioka ( together with many of the other domains of northern Honshū ) assisted the shogunate in policing the frontier region of Ezochi ( now Hokkaido ) . The clan ' s first direct encounter with foreigners came in the late 16th century , when a Dutch ship , the " Breskens " , arrived in Nanbu territory . A shore party from the ship was captured by local authorities and taken to Edo . Over the course of its history particularly in the Edo period , there were several retainers of the Nanbu clan who became famous on a national scale . Narayama Sado , a clan elder ( " karō " ) who was active during the Boshin War , was one of them ; he was responsible for leading the Nanbu clan ' s political activity and interaction with neighboring domains . Hara Takashi , who later became Prime Minister of Japan , was another . Some 20th - century figures in Japanese politics also came from families of former Nanbu retainers ; perhaps the most well known ones were Seishirō Itagaki and Hideki Tōjō . Boshin War . During the Boshin War of 1868−69 , the Nanbu clan was initially neutral . However , under the leadership of Nanbu Toshihisa and the clan elder ( 家老 , " karō " ) Narayama Sado , the Nanbu clan later sided with the northern alliance ( the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei ) . On September 23 , 1868 , the Nanbu clan ' s troops joined in the attack on the Akita Domain , which had seceded from the alliance and sided with the imperial government . By October 7 , Nanbu troops took Ōdate , one of the Akita domain ' s castles . However , due to the collapse of the alliance , the Nanbu clan surrendered to the imperial army on October 29 , 1868 . After the war , the Nanbu clan ' s holdings were drastically reduced by the imperial government as punishment for siding with the northern domains . The Nanbu of Morioka were then briefly moved to Shiroishi before being returned to Morioka . Two years after the war , as with all other daimyo , the heads of all three Nanbu branches were relieved of their offices by the abolition of the han system . Meiji era . In the early years of the Meiji era , the main Nanbu line was ennobled with the title of count ( " hakushaku " ) in the new nobility system . The Nanbu of Hachinohe and Shichinohe were also ennobled with the title of viscount ( " shishaku " ) . Count Toshinaga Nanbu , the 42nd generation Nanbu family head , was an officer of the Imperial Japanese Army , he died in battle during the Russo - Japanese War . He was succeeded by his brother Toshiatsu ; Toshiatsu was a proponent of the arts and studied painting under Kuroda Seiki . As Toshiatsu ' s presumptive heir Toshisada died at age 18 , Toshiatsu adopted Toshihide Ichijō , his son - in - law , as his heir . Toshihide was the son of Duke Ichijō Saneteru , who was a former court noble . Upon adoption , Toshihide assumed the Nanbu name , and after Toshiatsu ' s death , became 44th generation Nanbu family head . After Toshihide ' s death in 1980 , his son Toshiaki became 45th generation head . From 2004 through 2009 , Toshiaki was the chief priest of Yasukuni Shrine . Family heads . Morioka branch . The main line or senior branch is the Sannohe , later the Morioka . Hachinohe branch . The branch line which was created second is the Hachinohe . Shichinohe branch . The branch line which was created third is the Shichinohe .