The Kikuchi was active in the Kenmu Restoration (1333-1336), an attempt by the emperor Go-Daigo to reassert imperial authority against the Kamakura shogunate.

Notable Kikuchi descendants are Hayashi Narinaga, a general for Mōri Motonari and Saigō Takamori who was dubbed the last samurai.

Genealogists believed that Masanori was a son of Fujiwara no Takaie (藤原 隆家) but new evidence shows that his father was named Chikanori (親則).

In 1180 at the start of the Genpei War he sided with Minamoto no Yoritomo and began levying troops in Kyūshū but Taira no Sadayoshi marched against him and defeated him.

Shortly after the battle that same year he was turned over to Minamoto no Yoshitsune by his lord Ogata no Saburo Koreyoshi and was taken to the Rokujō riverbed where he was beheaded.

The wars surrounding the birth of this new regime saw the Kikuchi clan coalesce into a powerful warrior league or bushidan.

In 1181–82, their leader Kikuchi Takanao, joined with Ogata Koreyoshi of Bungo, another important local warrior, in rebellion against the Taira, which converted them into de facto allies of Minamoto Yoritomo, founder of the Bakafu.

Then, perversely, as the fighting drew to a close and the Taira star waned, the Kikuchi chose to align themselves with the erstwhile enemies and, together with the leading Kyūshū warriors including the Haruda, Yamaga, and Itai, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the now triumphant Bakafu.

The battle took place off the coast of Kyūshū, at Dannoura, and it saw the emergence of Minamoto no Yoritomo as Japan's unquestioned military leader.

He dispatched his two uncles to Kyōto to follow the Gotobajoko (retired Emperor) but the Kamakura shogunate were pleased increasing the lands of the Kikuchi.

The Mongolian force pitched a camp in Sohara field which had a hill with the height of 30m and had a good view over the streets of Fukuoka city, and now is called Soharakouen Park.

Born the first son and heir of Takamori and grandson of Takefusa he was also known as Kikuchi Jirō Tokitaka (菊池 次郎 時隆).

In the third year of Genkō (元弘, 1333), Taketoki attacked on secret orders from Godaigo against the then acting Chinzei-tandai Hōjō Hidetoki (北条英時).

He burned down Hakata and attacked but Taketoki was captured with his sons (one was named Yoritaka) and beheaded, then the enemy used their heads for archery practice.

From the Hakata Nikki: "So the heads of Kikuchi nyudo, his son Saburo, Jakua's younger brother Kakusho, and the wakato were hung up in the place where warriors practice shootings dogs from horses.

After the event, Takeshige hurried back to Kikuchi Castle and was awarded the title of governor of Higo Province by the Emperor Go-Daigo.

The Kikuchi was attacked by the Otomo clan and he wasn't able to handle the military situation so his brother Takemitsu took over the family and pushed him out.

"Taketoshi had already gone to the assistance of Nitta in the East, but his younger brother, together with other Kyūshū leaders, remained on the alert at Higo, where the Kikuchi family had its stronghold.

Thus Takauji had to reckon with an influential group, including such promising men as Aso, Mihara, and Kuroki, who were at one in desiring to check his progress in Kyūshū.

He succeeded in reducing the fort and driving out Shoni Sadatsune who made a stand in the neighboring hills but was thoroughly defeated and committed suicide with several of his kinsmen.

Shōgun Ashikaga Takauji, arriving in Munakata, a short distance away, at this time in early April, learned of the siege of Dazaifu and the death of Shōni Sadatsune.

The military chronicle Baishō-ron describes Tatarahama as "a stretch of over three miles (5 km) of dry foreshore, crossed at the south end by a small stream.

By the end of the battle, the Kikuchi clan forces had been chased by Ashikaga Tadayoshi to Dazaifu, at which point they fled into the hills.

Takauji rewarded his commanders for their bravery and service but offered a pardon to his opponents, and to several clans not participating in the battle, who thus joined him in its aftermath.

Hōmanzan 15 kilometers north because they were scattered by the fierce pursuit of the Kikuchi army which didn't give any spare time for them.

[11] Also known as Kikuchi Jirō Takemasa Born the first son of Takemitsu on July 6, 1342, he fought in Kyūshū against the Northern Court with his father and had great success.

In November 1373 his father died and he became the head of the clan and hearing about the death of Takemitsu, Imagawa attacked and won many battles against Takemasa.

When the mainline (Takemitsu line) was having problems with succession Takekane was adopted from the branch family and became the 25th head of the Kikuchi clan.

Kikuchi Yoshitake did not act as a puppet at all though and placed his bets on the Ōuchi to prevail in Northern Kyūshū and took up arms against Yoshiaki.