Thanks to a well-organised army and administration, abundant local resources, and a certain distance between Kyushu and the Kamakura court, the Shimazu clan became rich and powerful. The young man took the name of Shimazu in Hyuga province, his seat of government, as his own. In 1187, Yoritomo appointed his son, Tadahisa, as military governor of southern Kyushu. The clan can trace its ancestry back to Minamoto Yoritomo, the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate. Shimazu katana samurai are cheaper to recruit and maintain in the field than those of other clans they can also recruit superior katana-armed samurai. To the Shimazu, loyalty is everything, and their generals are less likely to develop ambitions of their own.
The Shimazu are a proud clan, with a long history worthy of their pride.
