The Kuki clan was a daimyo descended from Kumano betto (title of an official who administered the shrines at Kumano) of the Northern House of the Fujiwara clan originating in Muro County, Kii Province (modern day Owase City, Mie Prefecture), and was the leader of Kuki Suigun navy whose strategic point was located in Toba Domain in Shima Province (present-day Toba City, Mie Prefecture) acting as the general leader of Suigun navy in Hideyoshi's invasion of Kyushu and the dispatch of troops to Korea.
九鬼氏は藤原北家熊野別当の末裔で紀伊国牟婁郡（現在の三重県尾鷲市）で起こり、志摩国鳥羽藩（三重県鳥羽市）を拠点に九鬼水軍を統率し秀吉の九州攻めや朝鮮出兵で水軍総督を務めた大名である。