Tachibana

The Tachibana clan (立花氏) was a Japanese clan of daimyo during the Sengoku period and the Edo periods. They were originally based in Tachibana castle in Kyūshū, but at the time of the Edo period, the family's holdings were moved to the Yanagawa Domain in the far north-east of Honshū.

The clan was created by a warrior known as Ōtomo Sadatoshi. Even though they did not descend from any one from the Tachibana clan of the Heian period, Sadatoshi gave the name to the family who at the time, owned the Tachibana castle. For many years, they were seen as the loyal retainers of the Ōtomo clan, mainly because they served them in battle against the Shimazu clan, whom at the time were the Ōtomo’s rivals. In the mid – 16th century an argument between Ōtomo Akitoshi and Ōtomo Sorin, led to the former leaving the clan, and adopted the name Tachibana Dōsetsu.

Ginchiyo Tachibana was nominated head of the Tachibana clan as, to his dismay, he had no sons. But not so long after Ginchiyo took over as head, she married a vassal of Hideyoshi Toyotomi known as Takahashi Munetora. He had assisted in the defeat of the Shimazu in the Kyūshū Campaign. He then inherited the Ginchiyo’s title as head and became known as Tachibana Muneshige.

Muneshige would then serve Hideyoshi in the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598), to which he was granted the fief of Yanagawa in Chikugo Province, the land surrounding Tachibana Castle. Also battled against the Tokugawa during the Battle of Sekigahara of 1600, and was stripped of his possessions when the Tokugawa shogunate was created.

Eventually, he proved his loyalty towards the shogunate in the year 1611, and in return, he was rewarded a fief in Mutsu Province, a place very distant from Kyūshū. This fief was worth only 20,00 koku known as the Tanakura Domain, but when the Tanaka who were holding Yanagawa and the Tachibana castle at the time, died out (as there were no more remaining heirs), the Tachibana regained control of their old region. Constantly through the remainder of the Edo period, the clan gained the title of the Hakushaku (meaning Count) in the Meiji period. This happened when the feudal system and samurai class were brought to an end.

Notable Figures of the Tachibana

 * Ōtomo Sadatoshi
 * Tachibana Shinsei
 * Tachibana Munekatsu
 * Tachibana Shinzen
 * Tachibana Dōsetsu (1513-1585)
 * Tachibana Ginchiyo (1569-1602)
 * Tachibana Muneshige (1567-1642)
 * Tachibana Naotsugu (1573-1617)
 * Tachibana Takachika