Satake

The Satake were a samurai clan of Hitachi Province who claimed descent from the Minamoto: their founder Satake Masayoshi was a grandson of Minamoto no Yoshimitsu and settled at Satake village. During the Genpei War his son Takayoshi backed the Taira, so the clan was crushed by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1180 and readmitted to his service nine years later under Takayoshi's son Hideyoshi.

The Satake heads served as hereditary shugo of Hitachi. During the Sengoku wars Yoshishige, nicknamed Oni Yoshishige for his ferocity, checked the Later Hōjō at Numajiri.

His son Yoshinobu submitted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi at Odawara in 1590 and was confirmed as lord of most of Hitachi. Having sided with the Western Army at Sekigahara in 1600, the clan was transferred in 1602 to the smaller Kubota Domain in Dewa, where it ruled throughout the Edo period.