Soga clan

Soga clan
蘇我氏
Home provinceYamato Province
Parent houseImperial House of Japan
TitlesVarious
FounderSoga no Ishikawa
Final rulerSoga no Emishi
Dissolution645
Ruled until645, Isshi Incident
Cadet branchesIshikawa clan

The Soga clan (Japanese: 蘇我, Hepburn: Soga uji) was one of the most powerful aristocratic kin groups (uji) of the Asuka period of the early Japanese state—the Yamato polity—and played a major role in the spread of Buddhism in Japan. Through the 5th and 7th centuries, the Soga monopolized the kabane or hereditary rank of Great Omi and was the first of many families to dominate the Imperial House of Japan by influencing the order of succession and government policy.

The last Soga predates any historical work in Japan, and very little is known about its earliest members.