Date clan The is a Japan ese samurai kin group . History . The Date family was founded in the early Kamakura period ( 1185 - 1333 ) by Isa Tomomune who originally came from the Isa district of Hitachi Province ( now Ibaraki Prefecture ) , and was a descendant of Fujiwara no Uona ( 721 - 783 ) in the sixteenth generation . The family took its name from the Date district ( now Fukushima Prefecture ) of Mutsu Province which had been awarded in 1189 to Isa Tomomune by Minamoto no Yoritomo , the first Kamakura shogun , for his assistance in the Genpei War and in Minamoto no Yoritomo ’ s struggle for power with his brother , Minamoto no Yoshitsune . During the Nanboku - cho Wars in the 1330s , the Date supported the Imperial Southern Court of Emperor Go - Daigo through Kitabatake Akiie , who had been appointed by the Emperor " Chinjufu Shōgun " or Commander in Chief of the Defense of the North . As warlords gained and lost power in the Sengoku period , trying to unite the country , the Date , along with a handful of other powerful families , did all they could to retain independence and dominance over their section of the land ( in the case of the Date , the far north ) . Though not gaining the fame or power of the likes of Oda Nobunaga , Uesugi Kenshin , or Toyotomi Hideyoshi , they resisted the invasions of these warlords into the north . Date Masamune ( 1566 – 1636 ) contributed in particular to this effort , consolidating the families of the north into alliances against the major warlords . In 1589 , Masamune seized the Aizu Domain of the Ashina ; and he installed himself at Kurokawa Castle in Wakamatsu province . However , the following year , Hideyoshi triumphed over the Hōjo of Odawara ; and Hideyoshi then obliged Masamune to be content with the fief of Yonezawa ( 300 , 000 " koku " ) . Masamune ultimately gained some degree of independence by supporting Tokugawa Ieyasu . Ieyasu granted the Date much of the north , and yet the Date were not fully trusted . Despite the Date contribution of reinforcements for the Tokugawa during the battle of Sekigahara , the Date were viewed as a threat . In the Edo period , the Date were identified as one of the " tozama " or outsider clans , in contrast with the " fudai " or insider " daimyō " clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan . In 1600 , Ieyasu charged the Date to fight against Uesugi Kagekatsu ; and , with the assistance of Mogami Yoshiteru , Masamune ' s forces defeated Naoe Kanetsugu . In recognition of this success in battle , Masamune was granted the fiefs in twelve districts which had been held until that time by the Uesugi clan . The Date established themselves at Sendai ( 620 , 000 " koku " ) . By 1658 , Masamune changed the name of the Uesugi ' s castle at Iwatezawa to Sendai Castle The " feudal daimyō " were sometimes identified with the suffix " " - kō " " ( servant ) , preceded by the name of a place or a castle , e . g . , Sendai " - kō " was one of the names by which Date Masamune was known . Succession disputes erupted ; there were a number of direct descendants of Masamune , and many kinsmen and hereditary vassals of the Date who resided nearby held estates of at least 10 , 000 " koku " , and thus had some influence . In 1660 , Date Tsunamune was arrested in Edo , for drunkenness and debauchery ; the charges were generally believed to have been true . Tsunamune was condemned to excavate the moats which encircled the shogun ' s Edo Castle . In 1660 , he was ordered to supervise and pay for enhancing the north - east moat running from Megane - bashi to the Ushigome gate . The initial charges of licentious living are now believed to have been encouraged heavily by certain vassals and kinsmen in the north . These vassals and kinsmen appealed to the Council of Elders in Edo that Tsunamune should not be considered fit to rule , and that his son Date Tsunamura , great - grandson of Masamune , should become the " daimyo " ( lord ) of the Date " han " ( fief ) . Thus , Tsunamura became " daimyo " , under the guardianship of his uncles , Date Munekatsu and Muneyoshi . Ten years of violence and conflict followed in the north , reaching a climax in 1671 when Aki Muneshige , a powerful relative of the Date , complained to the shogunate of the mismanagement of the fief under Tsunamura and his uncles . The episode that followed is so complex and dramatic as to warrant becoming a well - known story known as the " Date Sōdō " ( Date Disturbance ) and a theatrical play as well . Aki was summoned to Edo to argue his case before various councils and officials , and was involved in a number of interrogations , examinations and meetings , as were several other retainers of the Date . One retainer in particular , Harada Kai Munesuke , was a supporter of Tsunamura and his uncles and , it is said , made a poor impression at Edo . At one point , Aki came upon Harada waiting to meet with some of the officials , and Aki began shouting insults . Swords were then drawn , and Aki was killed . Harada was killed moments after , by the officials or their guards . The official verdict was that Harada drew first ; the Harada family was disbanded and though Tsunamura was affirmed as the proper " daimyo " , his uncles were punished . Though the Date are most well known for their power in the north , Date Hidemune , the second son of Masamune , enjoyed a fief of 100 , 000 " koku " on Shikoku . Date clan genealogy . The " tozama " Date clan originated during the 12th century in Shimōsa Province . They claim descent from the Fujiwara clan . The branches of the " tozama " Date clan include the following : Clan temple in Edo . In the Edo period , Tōzen - ji was considered the family temple of various clans , including the Date clan of Sendai . Other clans considering Tōzen - ji to have been a clan temple were the Ikeda clan of Omi province , the Inaba clan of Usuki Domain in Bungo province , the Suwa clan of Shinshu , the Tamura of Ichinoseki , and the Mori clan of Saeki in Bungo Province . Notable clan members . Members of the clan are listed by their date of birth . Side branches . They were born to the Date clan but were nominally adopted by other families . The first name is the person who was nominally adopted . Retainers and vassals . These families were vassals of the Date clan . Notable members are listed by their date of birth .