Kutsuna

The Kutsuna were a seafaring warrior house of Iyo Province on Shikoku. From the Heian through the Muromachi period they dominated the Kutsuna archipelago in the Seto Inland Sea, with their base on Kutsuna-jima; the islands under their control were known as the seven Kutsuna islands.

They served the Kamakura shogunate, and in the Jōkyū War of 1221 Kutsuna Kunishige defeated and killed the imperial-side leader Tokunō Michitoshi at the Battle of Mount Takanawa. In 1331 Kutsuna Shigekiyo answered Emperor Go-Daigo's call and campaigned against the Utsunomiya, then followed Nitta Yoshisada against the Ashikaga as far as Ōi Castle in Shinano.

In 1336 he changed sides and served Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, Iyo and Aki. His brother Yoshinori, who stayed loyal to the Southern Court, eventually eclipsed him, after which the family faded from the main stage of politics.