Suwa

The Suwa were the priest-lords of the Suwa basin in Shinano, hereditary chief priests of the Upper Shrine of Suwa Taisha. They combined religious authority as the living vessel of Suwa Daimyojin with secular rule over Suwa district.

In 1335 the chief priest Yorishige and his son Tokitsugu raised the Hojo heir Tokiyuki in the Nakasendai war and briefly seized Kamakura, but were defeated and killed by Ashikaga Takauji. Tokitsugu's son Yoritsugu rebuilt the house. After the Onin war the Suwa crushed the rival Kanasashi of the Lower Shrine and united the basin.

Their independence ended in 1542 when Takeda Shingen had the lord Yorishige murdered and absorbed Suwa. In 1582 Yoritada restored the house; after Sekigahara his son Yorimizu became lord of Takashima, while a separated branch carried on the chief priesthood.