Kudō Suketaka

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Kudō Suketaka, also known as Itō Ietsugu, was a Japanese feudal lord who ruled Kusumi Manor in Izu Province. He was the 6th head of the Kudō clan and founded the Itō clan; he is also an ancestor of the Kanō clan and the Kawazu clan.

Suketaka split his lands between his son and his grandson, which set off a chain of conflicts. He gave the Kudō ancestral home, Kanō Manor in Izu, to his fourth son, Kudō Shigemitsu, who later founded the Kanō clan. Suketaka moved to Kusumi Manor (east of Kanō Manor) and started the Itō clan.

Kusumi Manor consisted of four smaller manors: Itō Manor, Usami Manor, Ōmi Manor, and Kawazu Manor. Suketaka did not have a clear heir because his successor Itō Sukeie died early, so he adopted a son from his second wife’s previous marriage as Kudō Suketsugu to take over. Suketsugu received Itō and Usami, while Kawazu Manor went to his grandson Itō Sukechika, the son of Suketaka’s eldest son Sukeie, who would found the Kawazu clan.

Suketaka’s plan angered Sukechika, who seized Kawazu after Suketsugu’s death. Suketsune, Suketsugu’s son, killed Kawazu Sukeyasu, Sukechika’s son. In revenge, Sukeyasu’s two sons, Soga Sukenari and Tokimune, avenged him, in the famous Revenge of the Soga Brothers, a tale told in Soga Monogatari.