Marriage Pattern of the Kumagai (Warrior Family)
The marriages of the Kumagai reflect the historical characteristics of the Kamakura period, Muromachi period, and Sengoku period.
Kamakura period
- Marriage with gokenin (direct retainers of the bakufu) in Kamakura -
1185~1333
In the Kamakura period, endogamy was not common marriage practice and the marriages are mostly between families with other families. The partners of the marriages of the Kumagai were mainly gokenin (direct retainers of bakufu) in the Kanto region, including the Hōjō, the Ōba, and the Sasaki. This is thought to be based on the fact that the Kumagai had been based in the Kanto region ever since they became renowned as gokenin close to Minamoto no Yoritomo[1]It was also found that their non-heir sons or daughters were also married into gokenin in the Kanto region,[2] meaning that there was no disparity between the heir of Kumagai and non-heir sons or daughters in terms of marriage partners.
Muromachi period
- Marriage with zaichi ryōshu (local lords) in the Aki Province -
1336~1466
A characteristic feature of the Muromachi period are the marital relation of the Kumagai with zaichi ryōshu in the Aki Province, as can be seen in the links with the Mōri , the Kobayakawa, the Shishido, and the Onshina. This is in line with the fact that the province-wide alliance (kokujin-ikki) continued within Aki Province from 1404 to 1512.[3]Warriors from the countryside were collectively called kokujin, and in areas where the power of the daimyo (regional feudal lords) was weak, kokujin were active, and in order to settle disputes among themselves and to subjugate peasants who had gained strength, they made contracts with each other and formed regional revolts. These alliance were called kokujin ikki. Kokujin who participated in the revolt created a charter to be adhered to by kokujin, stating that all kokujin were equal and that majority rule should be respected, and created an independent local power to resist the rule of the feudal lords.[4] The long-lasting alliance of the kokujin can be said to have been attributed to the intermarriage of families of zaichi ryōshu based in Aki Province.[5]
Sengoku period
- Marriage with the vassals of the Mōri -
1466~1578
In the Sengoku period, most of their marriages were with the Mōri. The marriages to Takeda, who held the position of governor of Aki Province, and to the younger sister of Mōri Hidemoto at the end of the Sengoku period, can be all seen as political marriage, but these marriages were crucial for the Kumagai, which was forced to transform itself from zaichi ryōshu to a vassal under the daimyo Mōri.[6] Among the daughters of the Kumagai family, one became the wife of Yoshikawa Motoharu, a warlord from the Sengoku period to the Azuchi-Momoyama period, and the mother of Yoshikawa Motonaga and Yoshikawa Motoji, and her marriage was suitable the Kumagai family's position as vassal under the Mōri. Other daughters and non-heirs were married to the main members of the Mori vassalage, including Yamanouchi, Amano, and other members of the Mōri, as well as Katsura and Naitō.[7]These marriages during the Sengoku period clearly indicate the position of the Kumagai as a vassal of the Mōri, which had to be included in the vassal circle while maintaining its own identity.
[1] Tabata 1983, p108
[2] Tabata 1983, p109
[3] Tabata 1983, p113
[4] Tabata 1971, p57-59
[5] Tabata 1983, p113
[6] Tabata 1983, p. 115.
[7] Tabata 1983, p. 116.
[8] Tabata 1983, p. 120.