The was a Japanese samurai clan who were a prominent Jizamurai (国人 kokujin) family of Tōtōmi Province during the Muromachi period and Sengoku period. They first served the Imagawa clan (今川氏) for generations but later became retainers of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The surname is sometimes written as "久努", "久奴" or "久能".
Origins Early in the Kamakura period, Kuno Munenaka (久野宗仲) moved to Kuno, Tōtōmi Province and took the place name as his surname founding the Kuno clan. There are several different genealogies of the Kuno clan and it is unknown which is the correct one. In most cases they descend from the Southern House of the Fujiwara clan (藤原南家 Fujiwara Nanke).
Fujiwara Nanke The Kuno clan of Tōtōmi Province was a branch of the Kudō clan (工藤氏) which descended from the Southern House of the Fujiwara clan (藤原南家 Fujiwara Nanke). The founder of Fujiwara's Southern House was Fujiwara no Muchimaro (680–737). His fifth generation great-grandson, Fujiwara no Tamenori (藤原為憲), founded the Kudō clan. In this genealogy the founder of the Kuno clan, Kuno Munenaka (久野宗仲), is a son of Kudō Kiyonaka (工藤清仲).
Hata clan Another theory is that the Kuno are descendants of the Hata clan (秦氏), an immigrant family who claimed descent from the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang.
Another theory In the Seishi-kakei-daijiten (姓氏家系大辞典) family compilation it is in fact recorded that the Kuno clan descend from Kuno Nao (久奴直).
Clan Heads OrderNameJapaneseLifetimeTitles/AKALineage1Kuno Munenaka久野宗仲 ? – ? Kudō Munenaka (工藤宗仲)son of Kudō Kiyonaka (工藤清仲)2Kuno Takakage久野忠景 ? – ? also Tadamune (忠宗)son of #13Kuno Kiyomune久野清宗 ? – ? son of #24Kuno Kiyonari久野清成 ? – ? son of #35Kuno Munemasa久野宗政 ? – ? son of #46Kuno Saburōuemon久野三郎右衛門 ? – ? son of #57Kuno Tadakiyo久野忠清 ? – ? son of #68Kuno Munehiro久野宗弘 ? – ? son of #79Kuno Tadamune久野忠宗 ? – ? also Munetaka (宗隆)son of #810Kuno Motomune久野元宗 ? –1560son of #911Kuno Muneyoshi久野宗能1527–1609younger brother of #1012Kuno Munenari久野宗成1582–1625Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Tanba-no-kami (丹波守)grandson of #1113Kuno Muneharu久野宗晴1609–1649Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下)son of #1214Kuno Munetoshi久野宗俊1643–1706Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Tanba-no-kami (丹波守), Izumi-no-kami (和泉守)son of #1315Kuno Toshimasa久野俊正1674–1726Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Izumi-no-kami (和泉守), Bingo-no-kami (備後守)son of #1416Kuno Toshizumi久野俊純1705–1772Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Tanba-no-kami (丹波守), 号華峯son of #1517Kuno Teruzumi久野輝純1745–1811Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Izumi-no-kami (和泉守), Ōmi-no-kami (近江守)son of #1618Kuno Masazumi久野昌純1787–1823son of #1719Kuno Zumikata久野純固1815–1873Ju-goi-no-ge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 従五位下), Tanba-no-kami (丹波守)son of #18
See also Fujiwara clan Nanke (Fujiwara) Hata clan Mihara Domain
Notes
References The Origins of Japan's Medieval World: Courtiers, Clerics, Warriors, and Peasants in the Fourteenth Century by Jeffrey P. Mass Shōyūki (982-1032), written by Fujiwara no Sanesuke The Last Samurai: the Life and Battles of Saigō Takamori. John Wiley & Sons, 2004. () Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan. Stanford University Press, 1999. () The Tale of the Heike (平家物語 Heike Monogatari) (1961). A History of Japan, 1334–1615. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Hakata Nikki Delmer M. Brown (ed.), ed (1993). The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge University Press. pp. 140–149.; George Sansom, A History of Japan to 1334, Stanford University Press, 1958. p. 47. Hurusato (Old Country) Tokushu Sengoku Jidai Sera-gun de Katsuyaku shita Shitobito (People of Sera-gun in the Sengoku Era). Kosan-cho Culture Association, 722–0411, Sera-gun, Kosan-cho, Utsu-do 2296-2 Kurahashi Sumio's House. Report Hurusato #3 Published March 1, 2000.