The Sakai clan (酒井氏 Sakai-shi?), descend from Emperor Seiwa and are a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. Nitta Yoshisue, 4th son of Nitta Yoshishige (+ 1202), settled at Tokugawa (Kozuke province) and took the name of the place. Tokugawa Arichika (14th century), descendant of Yoshisue in the 7th generation is the common ancestor of the Sakai clan and the Matsudaira clan. Due to this fact, the Sakai served the Matsudaira as senior vassals throughout the Sengoku Period, and were classified as fudai from before the foundation of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Sakai soon became chief retainers under Tokugawa Ieyasu, and split into many different branches in the subsequent decades. The Sakai of Shonai han (Dewa Province, 170,000 koku) were prominent in the late Edo period as a military power. Charged with the safety of Edo, they were patrons of the Shinchogumi police force, and were very effective in their duties. Following the surrender of Edo, the Sakai withdrew and returned north to their domain, where they were active in the northern theater of the Boshin War, as well as becoming signatories to the pact that created the Ouetsu Reppan Domei in 1868.
References
- Sakai history on Harimaya.com (in Japanese)
- This article has been compiled using corresponding material from the Japanese wikipedia.
