Last name origin & meaning: Japanese: ‘new rice paddy’; mostly found in western Japan. The most
famous Nitta family took the name from their residence in Kōzuke
(now Gunma prefecture). They descended from Minamoto no Yoshishige
(died 1202), who was also the ancestor of the Tokugawa. One
descendant, Nitta Yoshisada (1301–38) was the major opponent of
Ashikaga Takauji in the latter’s bid for the Shogunate, in which
Takauji was confirmed the year of Yoshisada’s death in battle. At this
time there was a schism in the imperial family, with rival emperors
ruling from separate courts. Takauji supported each side in turn, as
it suited him politically, but Yoshisada is to this day revered as the
champion of the southern (considered ‘legitimate’) court. Alternative
readings of the surname are Arata (mostly found in the
Ryūkyū Islands) and Shinden.
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