Shimazu clan

Shimazu clan
島津氏
The Shimazu clan mon
Home provinceSatsuma
Ōsumi
Hyūga
Parent house Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji)
FounderShimazu Tadahisa
Final rulerShimazu Tadashige
Current headShimazu Nobuhisa
Founding year12th century (ca. 1196 AD)
Dissolutionstill extant
Ruled until1947, Constitution of Japan renders titles obsolete

The Shimazu clan (島津氏, Shimazu-shi; Japanese pronunciation: [ɕiꜜ.ma.(d)zɯ, ɕi.ma.(d)zɯꜜ.ɕi]) were the daimyō of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan.

The Shimazu were identified as one of the tozama or outsider daimyō families in contrast with the fudai or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan.