Yamaga clan

Japanese: 山鹿氏 - やまがうじ

A warrior who was active mainly in Kyushu from the end of ancient times to the Middle Ages. Yamaga Hideto, the son of Kaita Tsuneto, was descended from Fujiwara Masanori, a government official in Dazaifu, and was of the same clan as the Kikuchi clan. Hideto grew to become the largest clan in the Onga River basin and became a supporter of the Taira clan. When the Taira clan fled the capital, he led over 500 of the 1,000 or so Taira ships in the Battle of Dannoura (1185) and served as the vanguard, earning him the nickname "the greatest warrior in Kyushu," but fell into ruin with the downfall of the Taira clan. The Yamaga clan, a relative of the Chikuzen Aso clan, is said to be a descendant of the Utsunomiya clan, and is said to have held the Yamaga Manor that was the former home of Yamaga Hideto.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

古代末から中世にかけて主として九州で活躍した武士。粥田経遠（かいたつねとお）の子山鹿秀遠（やまがひでとお）は大宰府府官の藤原政則を祖としており，菊池氏と同族であった。秀遠は遠賀川流域最大の豪族に成長し，平氏の方人となった。そして平家都落ちに従い，壇ノ浦の戦(1185)では平家方1000余艘中500余艘を率いて先陣をつとめ，〈九国一番の勢兵〉と呼ばれたが，平氏の滅亡とともに没落した。筑前麻生氏の同族山鹿氏は宇都宮氏の末流と称し，山鹿秀遠跡の山鹿荘を知行したと伝えている。

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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