The clan is called Hizen-Arima clan after its province of origin to distinguish it from other unrelated clans of the same name. The clan claimed descent from
Fujiwara Sumitomo (d. 941 AD), who settled in
Iyo Province after the
Tengyō no Ran war. During the late
Muromachi period,
Arima Haruzumi was a powerful
retainer of the
Ashikaga shogunate and controlled the
Shimabara Peninsula in northern
Kyushu, and thus controlled trade between Japan and
Portugal. During the
Sengoku period, Haruzumi's descendant
Arima Harunobu allied with the
Shimazu clan of
Kagoshima against the
Ryūzōji clan at the
Battle of Okitanawate. This alliance won and first demonstrated the effects of cannon in the battlefield. Shortly afterwards,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Kyushu and by quickly joining forces with him, the Arima were confirmed in their existing holdings. However, after the start of the
Edo period, Arima Harunobu fell from favour due to
Tokugawa Ieyasu's aversion to the
Kirishitan faith - the term for the
Roman Catholic religion in Japan. This culminated during the
Okamoto Daihachi incident, a court intrigue involving Harunobu and the Kirishitan Okamoto Paulo Daihichi. As a result, he was relieved of his offices and sentenced to die by
Tokugawa Ieyasu. Although his son,
Arima Naozumi was married to an adopted daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu, at the start of the suppression of the
Kirishitan religion, he was transferred from Shimabara to
Nobeoka Domain (53,000
koku) in
Hyūga Province in 1614. During the
Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-1638, he led an army of 4000 troops against the
Kirishitan rebels, many of whom were former Arima vassals. In 1692,
Arima Kiyozumi was transferred (i.e. demoted) from Nobeoka Domain to
Itoigawa Domain (50,000
koku) in
Echigo Province due to mismanagement of his domains which resulted in a peasant revolt. Although of almost equal
kokudaka as Nobeoka, Itoigawa was a holding of lesser prestige, as it was not permitted a castle. However, in 1695, he was transferred again to
Maruoka Domain in
Echizen Province, which was permitted a castle. The Arima clan continued to rule Maruoka Domain until the
Meiji restoration and
abolition of the han system in 1871. The last
daimyō of Maruoka,
Arima Michizumi served as
jisha-bugyō,
wakadoshiyori and
rōjū in the
Bakumatsu period of the Tokugawa shogunate, and was made a
viscount in the
Meiji period kazoku peerage system. == Clan heads ==