Nakashima Norinaga (中島宣長)
Norinaga NAKASHIMA was the lord of Nakajima-jo Castle in Nakajima-mura, Nakashima-gun, Owari Province who lived during the Kamakura period. His common name was Kurando NAKASHIMA. His official court rank was Saemon no jo (third-ranked officer of the Left Division of Outer Palace Guards).
The Nakashima family belonged to the Saga-Genji (Minamoto clan), a descendant of Kawara no in (MINAMOTO no Toru, Sadaijin (Minister of the Left)), the twelfth child of the Emperor Saga.
On June 5, 1221, he settled in Nakashima-gun in Owari Province, and began to use the family name of Nakashima after the place name.
The thirteenth descendant of MINAMOTO no Toru, who called himself 'NAKASHIMA Saemon no jo Norinaga', was the first to use the surname Nakashima in the clan, and owned the same land.
Norinaga and his descendants also called themselves 'Kurando NAKASHIMA' successively.
Historical materials
Enko Daisho Zenji Gyojo' (Documents about Enko Daisho Zenji)
He was from Nakashima-gun, Bi-shu (Owari Province). He was a descendant of Kawara no in, the twelfth child of Emperor Saga. He was born in 1310 and was of the Genji clan.
A chapter on October 26, 1239 from "Azuma Kagami" (The Mirror of the East) (Summary)
There is a name of NAKASHIMA Saemon no jo Norinaga, a resident of Owari Province. After the Jokyu War, Norinaga sided with the retired Emperor Toba and had his territory confiscated temporarily. In 1348, when Myoko-ji Temple of the Rinzai sect was founded, local gozoku (local ruling families), namely the Nakashima family and the Arao family, donated their territories to the temple.