Shoni clan

A powerful clan in northern Kyushu from the Kamakura period to the Sengoku period. Their original surname was the Fujiwara clan. They called themselves the Muto clan, but for generations they were called the Shoni clan, as they inherited the title of Dazai no Shoni. Their main family was Musashi Province. Sukeyori went down to Kyushu around 1195 (Kenkyu 6) and became the Chinzei Bugyo (magistrate of the Chinzei region), and in 1226 (Karoku 2) he became Dazai no Shoni. His son Sukeyoshi was the Shugo of Chikuzen, Buzen, Hizen, Iki, and Tsushima, but the number of Shugo positions decreased after the Mongol invasion (Genko). During the Nanboku-cho period, Yorihisa struggled to expand his power, but after suffering a setback in a battle with Kikuchi Takemitsu and Ohobaru in Chikugo, his power declined. During the Muromachi and Sengoku periods, he was driven out of northern Kyushu after fighting with the Ouchi clan and others, and repeatedly rebelled inland with the backing of the So clan of Tsushima. However, in 1559 (Eiroku 2), Tokihisa was attacked by the Chiba clan and the Ryuzoji clan and committed suicide, and the Shoni clan was effectively wiped out.

[Junichi Ueda]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鎌倉時代から戦国時代に及ぶ北九州の豪族。本姓は藤原氏。武藤(むとう)氏と称するが、代々、大宰少弐(だざいのしょうに)を世襲して少弐氏とよばれた。本貫(ほんがん)は武蔵国(むさしのくに)。資頼(すけより)が1195年（建久6）ごろ九州に下向し鎮西奉行(ちんぜいぶぎょう)となり、1226年（嘉禄2）大宰少弐に就任。その子資能(すけよし)は筑前(ちくぜん)、豊前(ぶぜん)、肥前、壱岐(いき)、対馬(つしま)の守護であったが、蒙古(もうこ)襲来（元寇(げんこう)）を機として守護職(しき)は減少した。南北朝時代、頼尚(よりひさ)が勢力拡充に奮闘したが、菊池武光(たけみつ)と筑後大保原(おおほばる)に戦って打撃を受けて以来振るわなくなり、室町・戦国時代には大内氏などと抗争して北九州を追われ、対馬の宗(そう)氏の後援で内陸反抗を繰り返したが、1559年（永禄2）時尚(ときひさ)が千葉氏、龍造寺(りゅうぞうじ)氏に攻められて自殺したため、事実上少弐氏は滅んだ。

［上田純一］

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