Mr. Ninagawa

The family name was Miyaji. The family was a bureaucrat in the Muromachi Shogunate. They lived in Ninagawa Village, Niikawa County, Ecchu Province (Toyama Prefecture), and so took the name Ninagawa. During the Kenmu period (1334-38), under Chikatomo, the family was related by marriage to the Ise clan, and served the Ashikaga clan through them. Since then, they continued to marry into the Ise clan, and became the foster mothers of successive Ashikaga Shoguns. From the time of Chikamasa, the family served as deputies to the Ise clan, who became the Shogunate's Mandokoro Shitsuji (chief executive officer), and this position continued to be passed down for generations. Chikamoto (1433-88), who served the 8th Shogun Yoshimasa, his son Chikataka (?-1525), and great-grandson Chikatoshi (?-1569) left behind diaries, and the family documents are collected in the "Dai Nippon Kobunsho" (Collected Documents of Great Japan), making them valuable political and economic historical materials from this period. In 1562 (Eiroku 5), Chikatoshi's master, Ise Sadataka, was defeated and killed in battle with the Miyoshi clan, after which the family temporarily declined, but later served Tokugawa Ieyasu and continued to serve as a hatamoto (direct retainer of the Tokugawa shogun) until the end of the Edo period.

[Kouen Kuwayama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

本姓宮道(みやじ)氏。室町幕府の事務官僚の家。越中国(えっちゅうのくに)（富山県）新川(にいかわ)郡蜷川村に住したので、蜷川氏を称したという。建武(けんむ)（1334～38）のころ親朝(ちかとも)の代に、伊勢(いせ)氏と姻戚(いんせき)関係にあったことから、その仲介で足利(あしかが)氏に仕え、以後も伊勢氏と婚を通じたため、代々足利将軍の養母となった。親当(ちかまさ)のときから、幕府政所執事(まんどころしつじ)（長官）となった伊勢氏の代官として政所代を勤め、代々世襲した。8代将軍義政(よしまさ)に仕えた親元(ちかもと)（1433―88）、その子親孝(ちかたか)（？―1525）、曽孫(そうそん)親俊(ちかとし)（？―1569）は日記を残し、また家伝の文書(もんじょ)類は『大日本古文書』に収められて、この時期の政治・経済史料として貴重である。1562年（永禄5）親俊の主人伊勢貞孝(さだたか)が三好(みよし)氏と戦って敗死して以後一時衰退したが、のち徳川家康に仕え、旗本として幕末に至った。

［桑山浩然］

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