Hatakeyama clan

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The Hatakeyama clan (畠山氏, Hatakeyama-shi^?) was a branch family descended from the Taira. The clan was an ally of the Ashikaga shogunate against the (Imperial) Southern Court during the wars of the Nanboku-cho period, and was rewarded with the hereditary position of Constable, by the Ashikaga, over the provinces of Yamashiro, Kii, Kawachi, Etchu, and Noto, at the end of the 14th century. During the 15th century, the members of the Hatakeyama clan took, although not exclusively, the title Kanrei, holding great influence over the Imperial Court at Kyoto. Around 1450, there was a split in the clan, and the internal conflict weakened the clan as a whole, causing it to lose the position of Kanrei to the Hosokawa family. This split began with a feud between Hatakeyama Masanaga and Hatakeyama Yoshinori over succession to the position of Kanrei; it quickly grew, as each side gained allies, and was one of the sparks that ignited the Ōnin War. Nevertheless, they maintained enough strength and unity to become some of Oda Nobunaga's chief adversaries in Kyoto, a hundred years later.