Ujiie clan - Ujiie Uji

Japanese: 氏家氏 - うじいえうじ

A powerful clan in the Middle Ages based in Katsuyama Castle in Ujiie-machi, Shioya-gun, Tochigi Prefecture. Its ancestor is said to be Utsunomiya Tomotsuna's third son Kinyori, but he was of Tachibana surname, as the copperplate mandala inscription at Sanuki-kannon in Shioya-machi reads "Uhyoe no jo Tachibana Kinyori...Kenpo 5th year," and he is of a different origin from the Fujiwara Michikane line of the Utsunomiya clan. Kinyori ruled over 24 Ujiie districts and took the name of the Ujiie clan. He was related by marriage and vassal to the Utsunomiya clan from an early stage, marrying a daughter of Tomotsuna's father, Munetsuna. In addition to Kinyori, three generations of Kinnobu and Tsunetomo appear in the Azuma Kagami, and they often served as attendants to the shogun, and their yabusame (horseback archery) and kasakake (kasakake) skills were said to be "outstanding archery."

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

栃木県塩谷郡氏家町の勝山城を本拠とした中世豪族。その祖は宇都宮朝綱の三男公頼といわれるが，彼は塩谷町佐貫観音の銅版曼陀羅銘に〈右兵衛尉橘公頼……建保五年〉とあって橘姓であり，宇都宮氏の藤原道兼流とは出自を異にする。公頼は氏家24ヵ郷を領して氏家氏を名のり，朝綱の父宗綱の女を妻とするなど，宇都宮氏と早くから姻戚･被官関係を結ぶ。《吾妻鏡》には公頼のほか公信･経朝の3代の名がみえ，しばしば将軍の供奉人を務め，流鏑馬（やぶさめ）･笠懸は〈抜群の射芸〉といわれた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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