Uda Genji

The Uda Genji (宇多源氏) were the successful and powerful line of a Japanese Minamoto clan that were descended from Emperor Uda (宇多天皇). Many of the famous Minamoto warriors, including Sasaki clan (佐々木氏), also known as Daimyō Kyōgoku clan (京極氏); Sasaki Nariyori (佐々木成頼), the founder of the Ōmi Genji clan (近江源氏); and Sasaki Yoshikiyo (佐々木義清), the founder of the Izumo Genji clan (出雲源氏) belong to this line. The family is named after Emperor Uda, grandfather of Minamoto no Masazane (源雅信), patriarch of the Uda Genji (宇多源氏).

Emperor Uda was father of Imperial Prince Atsumi (敦實親王 Atsumi Shinnō) (892-966) - father of Minamoto no Masazane (源雅信) (920-993), founder of the Uda Genji, from whom the Uda Genji is descended. Many samurai families of Ōmi and Izumo Province belong to this line and had used "Minamoto" clan name in official records, including Sasaki clan, Rokkaku clan, Kyōgoku clan, Kutsugi clan, Kuroda clan, Oki clan, Enya clan, Toda clan, Takaoka clan, Koshi clan, Sase clan, Nogi clan, etc. The Shinto shrine connected closely with the clan is known as the Sasaki Shrine (沙沙貴神社 Sasaki Jinja).

Uda

Uda or UDA may refer to:

Places

Note: In Sinhala language, uda = up and rata = country

Uda (surname)

Uda (written: 宇田) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Other people

Uda (sheep)

Uda is a breed of African long-legged sheep common in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and northern Nigeria. There are several varieties of uda sheep. Typically the front half of Uda sheep is brown or black and the back half white.

Characteristics

The Uda is generally raised for its meat. The ewes are typically hornless (polled) and the rams have horns.

References

Genji

Genji is the Latinized rendering of several Japanese names. It may refer to:

Video games

Minamoto clan

Minamoto clan (源, Minamoto-shi) was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period (AD 794–1185), although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era. The Taira were another such offshoot of the imperial dynasty. The Minamoto clan is also called the Genji (源氏), using the Sino–Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese characters for Minamoto (gen, from Middle Chinese ngüon) and family (ji, from MC dʒje).

The Minamoto were one of four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period — the other three were the Fujiwara, the Taira, and the Tachibana.

History

The first emperor to grant the surname Minamoto was Emperor Saga, who reportedly had 49 children, resulting in a significant financial burden on the imperial household. In order to alleviate some of the pressure of supporting his unusually large family, he made many of his sons and daughters nobles instead of royals. He chose the word minamoto (meaning "origin") for their new surname in order to signify that the new clan shared the same origins as the royal family. Afterwards, Emperor Seiwa, Emperor Murakami, Emperor Uda, and Emperor Daigo, among others, also gave their sons or daughters the name Minamoto. These specific hereditary lines coming from different emperors developed into specific clans referred to by the emperor's name followed by Genji, e.g. Seiwa Genji. According to some sources, the first to be given the name Minamoto was Minamoto no Makoto, seventh son of Emperor Saga.

Genji (era)

Genji (元治) was a Japanese era name (年号,, nengō,, lit. "year name") after Bunkyū and before Keiō. This period spanned only slightly more than a single year from February 1864 through April 1865. The reigning emperor was Kōmei-tennō (孝明天皇).

Change of era

The new era name was derived from the I Ching.

Events of the Genji era