Kitabatake

The Kitabatake were a house of court nobles and warriors descended from the Murakami Genji through the Nakanoin lineage. They took their name from an estate in northern Kyoto where their ancestor Masaie settled. Close to the Daikakuji line of emperors, they rose through Kitabatake Chikafusa, a pillar of Emperor Go-Daigo's Kenmu Restoration.

After the Southern Court withdrew to Yoshino, Chikafusa became its military and political leader and wrote the Jinno Shotoki, arguing its legitimacy. His son Akiie repeatedly marched from Mutsu against the Ashikaga until he was killed in 1338.

A branch ruled southern Ise as provincial governors and became Sengoku daimyo. In 1569 Oda Nobunaga's invasion forced the family to adopt his son Nobukatsu as heir. In 1576 the retired lord Tomonori and much of the clan were assassinated in the Mitsuse Incident, extinguishing the Ise Kitabatake.