The Ii clan was a samurai clan of the Heian Empire period of Japan, who later became vassals of the Imagawa and Tokugawa clans during the Sengoku Period. Their capital was Hamamatsu.
History[]
The Ii claimed descent from the Fujiwara clan, originating in the 9th century. Controlling Totomi Province, they were aligned with the Fujiwara in the power struggles of the late 12th century. They had a meagre prosperity, and although they were peaceful, they had questionable integrity. They allied with the Kajiwara clan, but their alliance was no deterrent to the Kamakura Minamoto, who were determined to destroy the Fujiwara clan's influence in central Japan. The Minamoto destroyed the Ii clan after a few flops in their invasions, and made them into vassals. When the Kiso Minamoto declared war on them, the Kamakura abandoned the alliance. They were among the chief opponents of the Minamoto in the Kenkyu War of the 1190s.
By the early 16th century, they were servants of the Imagawa and Tokugawa clans of Mikawa Province. Naomori Ii was their daimyo as of 1560, and he died fighting Nobunaga Oda in the Battle of Okehazama. They became allies with the Oda and Tokugawa and Naotaka Ii fought as their leader during the campaigns of Nobunaga and Ieyasu Tokugawa. During the Sekigahara Campaign of 1600, they supported the Tokugawa clan.
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