Okura no Haruzane (大蔵春実)
OKURA no Haruzane (dates of birth and death unknown) was a noble in the mid-Heian period (in the tenth century). His father was Minbu no jo (Senior Undersecretary of Popular Affairs) Tsunenao OKURA, and his mother was a daughter of Uhyoe no kami (Captain of the Right Division of Middle Palace Guards) FUJIWARA no Toshiyuki. His wife was a daughter of Sangi (Councilor) ONO no Yoshifuru.
The Okura clan is said to have been progeny of the Emperor Ling (Han) in the Later Han Dynasty who was descended from the founder and first Emperor of the Earlier Han Dynasty, Gaozu (Liu Bang). With the fall of the Later Han Dynasty and the arrival of the Three Kingdoms period, China descended into chaos. The family of Prince Achi (Achi no Omi), a great-grandchild of the Emperor Ling, became naturalized in Japan, and took up their residence in Okuradani, Harima Province (present-day Okuradani, Nishi Ward, Kobe City). It is thought that a son of Prince Achi was appointed naidaijin (Minister of the Center) and married the daughter of the Emperor Saimei. He also constructed a shrine in Harima Province.
(It was originally named Goshoden, and the fact that they were engaged in the construction of the shrine is evidence that the family were the recipients of special treatment by the Imperial Court.)
OKURA no Hirosumi, a descendent of Achi no Omi, was a member of the Yamatonoaya clan of which the Sakanoue clan was a part. OKURA no Haruzane was the eighth generation descendant of OKURA no Hirosumi.
In 939, the Johei and Tengyo War (FUJIWARA no Sumitomo's War) broke out in the Seto Naikai (the Inland Sea of Japan). OKURA no Haruzane played an active role as a sakan (secretary (lowest of the four administrative ranks of the ritsuryo period) in Shitokan (four classifications of bureaucrats' ranks)) Kyozokushi (police officer who subdued the barbarians in the Sanyo and Nankai region) who was dispatched to subjugate the conflict. In May, 941, he repelled FUJIWARA no Sumitomo's army in Hakatanotsu. This achievement led to his promotion to Jugoinoge Tsushima no Kami (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, Governor of Tsushima Province) and Daikan (inspector (third highest of the four administrative ranks of the ritsuryo period) in Dazai-fu (local government office in Kyushu region). He became a third administrative rank official at Daizu-fu and controlled the military police within the jurisdiction.
In 960, a rumor arose that remnants of TAIRA no Masakado's followers planned to enter the capital. It was at this time that under the orders of the Kurododokoro (Chamberlain's Office), Haruzane and MINAMOTO no Mitsunaka, the son of the above mentioned Tsuibushi (Constable) and Daizu-fu undersecretary MINAMOTO no Tsunemoto (the founder of Seiwa-Genji (Minamoto clan)), commanded a group of samurai and protected the capital. This is considered to be the first case in which samurai were used by someone who was not a in a government post.
His descendants settled in Kyushu and successively inherited the Daizu-fu 'post.'