Tokugawa clan
| Tokugawa clan 徳川氏 |
|
|---|---|
Tokugawa clan mon
|
|
| Home province |
Kozuke (original line) Mikawa (restored line) |
| Parent house |
Nitta clan (original line) Matsudaira clan (restored line) |
| Titles | Various |
| Founder | Nitta Yoshisue (original line) Tokugawa Ieyasu (restored line) |
| Final ruler | Tokugawa Yoshinobu |
| Current head | Tsunenari Tokugawa |
| Founding year | 13th century (original line) 1567 (restored line) |
| Ruled until | 1868 (Abolition of the shogunate) 1871 (Abolition of the han system) |
| Cadet branches | Various |
The Tokugawa clan (徳川氏、德川氏 Tokugawa-shi or Tokugawa-uji?) was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) by the Nitta clan. The early history of this clan remains a mystery. Members of the clan ruled Japan as Shoguns from 1603 to 1867.
Minamoto no Yoshishige (+1202), grandson of Minamoto no Yoshiie (1041–1108), was the first to take the name of Nitta. He sided with his cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo against the Taira clan (1180) and accompanied him to Kamakura. Nitta Yoshisue, 4th son of Yoshishige, settled at Tokugawa (Kozuke province) and took the name of that place. Their provincial history book did not mention Minamoto clan or Nitta clan.
The nominal originator of the Matsudaira clan was reportedly Matsudaira Chikauji, who was originally a poor Buddhist monk. He reportedly descended from Nitta Yoshisue in the 8th generation and witnessed the ruin of the Nitta in their war against the Ashikaga. He settled at Matsudaira (Mikawa province) and was adopted by his wife's family. Their provincial history book claimed that this original clan was Ariwara clan. Because this place is said to have been reclaimed by Nobumori Ariwara, one theory holds that Matsudaira clan was related to Ariwara no Narihira.
Matsudaira Nobumitsu (15th century), son of Chikauji, was in charge of Okazaki Castle, and strengthened the authority of his family in the Mikawa province. Nobumitsu's great-great-grandson Matsudaira Kiyoyasu made his clan strong, but was assassinated. In 1567, his grandson Ieyasu (1542–1616) obtained from the Emperor permission to revive the name Tokugawa. In so doing, he claimed descent from the Minamoto clan.
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Wikipedia