 During the Muromachi period, the Suwa were involved both in a feud with the Kanasashi clan of the "Shimosha" which supported the Northern Court, and interclan strife between the head family (惣領家 "sōryō-ke") and the "ōhōri-ke" (大祝家), a branch of the clan that had come to assume the priestly duties.With the defeat of the Kanasashi and the head family's reattainment of the position of "ōhori", the clan became a regional power, clashing with the Takeda clan - originally their allies - during the Sengoku period.The clan again suffered a setback with Suwa Yorishige's defeat in the hands of Takeda Shingen (who was, ironically, a staunch devotee of Suwa-myōjin) in 1542 and with his suicide in 1544, the extinction of the main family; his cousin Yoritada (諏訪頼忠, 1536-1606), who succeeded Yorishige's younger brother Yoritaka (諏訪頼高, 1528-1542) as "ōhōri", was spared.