Minamoto no Kuninao (源国直)
MINAMOTO no Kuninao (year of birth and death unknown) is a busho (Japanese military commander) in the late Heian period. He is the third son of MINAMOTO no Yoritsuna. MINAMOTO no Akikuni and MINAMOTO no Nakamasa are his older brothers, and his sons are MINAMOTO no Kunimasa, MINAMOTO no Kunimoto and MINAMOTO no Atsumitsu. He called himself as Saburo YAMAGATA and Saburo MINO. His official court rank is unknown. He was also called Kuninao YAMAGATA.
Different from his older brothers who settled themselves in Settsu Province like their ancestors, Kuninao resided in Yamagata district (Gifu Prefecture) based in Mino Province, therefore he became the founder of the Yamagata clan of Mino-Genji (Minamoto clan). However, his other achievements are unknown. According to "Sonpi Bunmyaku" (a text compiled in the fourteenth century that records the lineages of the aristocracy), he was exiled to Aki Province, but the record of offices and ranks he held and the date of birth and death are unknown.
Mino, being close to Kyoto, was the province Kuninao was most familiar with; his ancestors MINAMOTO no Yorimitsu and MINAMOTO no Yorikuni had served as Kokushi (provincial governor) of Mino Province, and his father, Yoritsuna, had accompanied Yorikuni when he went to Mino. Because of this background, he is thought to have got a toehold to enter Mino Province together with his uncle MINAMOTO no Kunifusa (the founder of the Toki clan).
His base in Mino was succeeded by his oldest son Kunimasa, and his second son Kunimoto became the founder of the Nose clan based in Nose District, Settsu Province.