Mr. Saito - Saitouji

A medieval samurai family. It began with Nobumochi, the son of Fujiwara no Toshihito, the Chinjufu Shogun famous for his "imogayu" (sweet potato rice porridge). As Nobumochi was appointed as Saigū no Kami (head of the Imperial Court), he was called Saito, an abbreviation of Saigū no Kami Fujiwara. As Toshihito's mother was the daughter of the powerful Hata clan of Tsuruga in Echizen Province (Fukui Prefecture), the Saito clan flourished throughout the northern region. These included the Kaga Saito clan and its tributaries Togashi and Hayashi, as well as Hikita Saito and Kawai Saito, who were based in Echizen Province. Among the descendants of the Echizen Saito, the Saito clan who served as officials of the Kamakura and Muromachi Shogunates, and the Mino Saito clan, which began when Chikayori became the deputy governor of Mino Province (Gifu Prefecture), are well known. The Mino Saito clan served as deputy governors of the Toki clan, and during the Onin War (1467-1477), under Myouchin, they held real power in the province and had a major influence on the state of the war in the center of Japan, reaching their zenith. After Myouchin's death, Toshikuni, who succeeded him, suffered a major blow while fighting tens of thousands of Omi natives who opposed the occupying forces during the Rokkaku Expedition in Omi, and committed suicide with his family in Omi in 1496 (Meiō 5) during the retreat. His son Toshitaka, who was too young to join the expeditionary force, succeeded him, but the family was not restored and the main branch of the Saito clan fell into decline. It is a mistake to think of Saito Dosan as a revolutionary who rose from an oil seller. Dosan's father was originally a scholar and monk at Myokakuji Temple in Kyoto, who first took the name Nishimura, then usurped the Nagai family name and called himself Nagai Shinzaemon-no-jo, becoming a powerful figure. His son Dosan forcefully usurped the Mino Saito family name. This was Saito Sakon-no-dayu Toshimasa, who later became Dosan. The Saito clan was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga during the time of his grandson Tatsuoki.

[Toshifumi Yada]

"Sengoku Daimyo" by Tetsuo Owada (Kyoikusha History Paperback)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中世の武家。「芋がゆ」で有名な鎮守府将軍藤原利仁(ふじわらのとしひと)の子叙用(のぶもち)に始まる。叙用が斎宮頭(さいくうのかみ)に任ぜられたことから、斎宮頭藤原を略して斎藤とよばれた。利仁の母が越前国(えちぜんのくに)（福井県）敦賀(つるが)の豪族秦(はた)氏の女(むすめ)であった関係から、斎藤は北国一帯に栄えた。加賀斎藤氏とその支流の富樫(とがし)・林、越前国を本拠とする疋田斎藤(ひきたさいとう)・河合斎藤(かわいさいとう)などである。越前斎藤の流れでは、鎌倉・室町幕府職員の斎藤氏、また、親頼(ちかより)が美濃国(みののくに)（岐阜県）の目代(もくだい)となったのに始まる美濃斎藤氏が著名。美濃斎藤氏は守護土岐(とき)氏の守護代を代々勤め、応仁(おうにん)の乱（1467～1477）のころ妙椿(みょうちん)の代には一国の実権を握り、中央の戦局にも大きな影響を及ぼすなど全盛期を迎えた。妙椿の没後、後を継いだ利国(としくに)は近江(おうみ)の六角征討の最中、占領軍に反対する近江の土民数万と闘い大打撃を被り、退却の途中近江で一族とともに1496年（明応5）自害した。幼少のため征討軍に加わらなかった子利隆が後を継いだが復興ならず斎藤宗家は没落した。斎藤道三(どうさん)を油売りから身をおこした一世の風雲児とするのは誤りで、道三の父はもとは京都の妙覚寺(みょうかくじ)の学僧で、初め西村(にしむら)を名のり、次に長井の名跡を奪い長井新左衛門尉(しんざえもんのじょう)と称し、大きな力をもつに至ったものである。その子道三は力ずくで美濃斎藤の名跡を奪った。これが斎藤左近大夫利政(としまさ)、後の道三である。斎藤氏はその孫龍興(たつおき)の代に織田信長に滅ぼされた。

［矢田俊文］

『小和田哲男著『戦国大名』（教育社歴史新書）』

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