Ogasawara clan

Ogasawara clan 小笠原氏
The emblem (mon) of the Ogasawara clan
Home province	Shinano
Parent house	Takeda clan
Titles	Shugo Daimyo
Founder	Ogasawara Nagakiyo
Founding year	13th century
Dissolution	still extant
Cadet branches	Miyoshi clan Mizukami clan Tomono clan Hayashi clan (Jōzai)

The Ogasawara clan (小笠原氏, Ogasawara-shi^?) was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano province in the medieval period (c. 1185–1600), and as daimyō (feudal lords) of territories on Kyūshū during the Edo period (1600–1867).

During the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, the clan controlled Shinano province, while related clans controlled the provinces of Awa, Bizen, Bitchū, Iwami, Mikawa, Tōtōmi and Mutsu. According to some theories, the Miyoshi clan and the Mizukami clan were descendants of the Ogasawara clan.

The clan developed a number of schools of martial arts during this period, known as Ogasawara-ryū, and contributed to the codification of bushido etiquette.

Towards the end of the Sengoku period (late 16th century), the clan opposed both Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.