Gosanke
Encyclopedia
Tokugawa clan
The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
descended from clan founder Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
's three youngest sons, Yoshinao
Tokugawa Yoshinao
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.- Biography :Born as the ninth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, his childhood name was Gorōtamaru. While still a young child, he was appointed leader of first the fief of Kofu in Kai Province and later the fief of Kiyosu in Owari Province...
, Yorinobu
Tokugawa Yorinobu
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.Born under the name Nagafukumaru, he was the 10th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, by his concubine Oman-no-kata. On December 8, 1603, Yorinobu received the fief of Mito, then rated at 200,000 koku, as his fief. Mito had formerly belonged to his older brother,...
and Yorifusa
Tokugawa Yorifusa
, also known as Mito Yorifusa, was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.- Biography :Known in his childhood as Tsuruchiyomaru, he was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun...
and allowed to provide a shogun in case of need. The three houses were called Owari House of Tokugawa, Kii House of Tokugawa and Mito House of Tokugawa. However in the Edo Period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
the term gosanke could also refer to various other combinations of Tokugawa houses, including (1) the shogunal, Owari and Kii houses and (2) the Owari, Kii, and Suruga
Suruga Province
was an old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka prefecture. It was sometimes called . Suruga bordered on Izu, Kai, Sagami, Shinano, and Tōtōmi provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay.-History:...
houses (all with the court position of dainagon
Dainagon
was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century.This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century....
). Even after the abolition of the Edo period system of administrative domains (han), the three continue to exist.
History
After he established his shogunate, Ieyasu proceeded to put members of his family in key positions. Ninth son Yoshinao was nominated daimyoDaimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
of Nagoya (Owari province
Owari Province
was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of present day Aichi Prefecture, including much of modern Nagoya. Its abbreviation is Bishū .-History:The province was created in 646....
), tenth son Yorinobu daimyo of Wakayama (Kii province
Kii Province
, or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. The Kii Peninsula takes its name from this province....
) and eleventh son Yorifusa daimyo of Mito (Hitachi province
Hitachi Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Iwashiro, Iwaki, Shimousa, and Shimotsuke Provinces....
). From this allocation of fiefs came the names of the houses they founded, officially called , , and ). Ieyasu gave them the right to supply a shogun in order to ensure the presence of successors to the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
in case the main line should become extinct. This in fact happened when the seventh shogun died heirless in 1716, as well as when the thirteenth shogun died heirless in 1858.
The three houses had the highest rank among the shinpan
Shinpan (daimyo)
The daimyo were certain relatives of the Tokugawa shoguns of Japan. While all shinpan were relatives of the shogun, not all relatives of the shogun were shinpan; an example of this is the Matsudaira clan of the Okutono Domain. The shinpan lords were also known as kamon daimyō — non-daimyo...
, the daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
who were relatives of the shogun. After the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, under the kazoku
Kazoku
The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...
system, the heads of the three houses became marquess
Marquess
A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...
es. In 1929 the head of the Mito House was elevated from marquess to duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
.
Owari House
The senior one was the Owari branch. The first of this line was Tokugawa YoshinaoTokugawa Yoshinao
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.- Biography :Born as the ninth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, his childhood name was Gorōtamaru. While still a young child, he was appointed leader of first the fief of Kofu in Kai Province and later the fief of Kiyosu in Owari Province...
, ninth son of Ieyasu. He and his heirs were daimyo of the Owari Domain
Owari Domain
The was a feudal domain of Japan in the Edo period. Located in what is now the western part of Aichi Prefecture, it encompassed parts of Owari, Mino, and Shinano provinces. Its headquarters were at Nagoya Castle. At its peak, it was rated at 619,500 koku, and was the largest holding of the...
(Owari Han), with its headquarters at Nagoya Castle
Nagoya Castle
is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, central Japan. During the Edo period, Nagoya Castle was the center of one of the most important castle towns in Japan—Nagoya-juku— and it included the most important stops along the Minoji, which linked the Tōkaidō with the Nakasendō.-History:In...
. The fief had a rating of 619,500 koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
, a koku being the quantity of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
necessary to feed one person for a year (about 180 liters), and was the largest of the three. Before the abolition of the shogunate and of the han system, the house was headed successively by 17 men. Its seniority notwithstanding, the Owari were the only one not to provide a shogun.
Kii House
Second in seniority was KiiKii Province
, or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. The Kii Peninsula takes its name from this province....
or Kishū House. The founder was Tokugawa Yorinobu
Tokugawa Yorinobu
was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.Born under the name Nagafukumaru, he was the 10th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, by his concubine Oman-no-kata. On December 8, 1603, Yorinobu received the fief of Mito, then rated at 200,000 koku, as his fief. Mito had formerly belonged to his older brother,...
, the tenth son of Ieyasu. Yorinobu was daimyo of the Kishū Han
Wakayama Domain
The was a han or Japanese feudal domain in Kii Province , with income of 555,000 koku. The domain was also known as or . The heads of the domain were Kishu-Tokugawa clan, one of Gosanke...
with its castle at Wakayama
Wakayama Castle
' in Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, sits at the mouth of the Kii River. Originally Ōta castle, home of the Saiga Ikki, it was captured by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1585, during the Siege of Negoroji; many monks from Negoroji sought refuge in Ōta, which was soon destroyed by flood...
and a rating of 555,000 koku. He entered Wakayama
Wakayama, Wakayama
is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan.-Background:Wakayama occupies 4% of the land area and has 40% of Wakayama prefecture's population. The city was founded on April 1, 1889....
in 1619 when the previous daimyo was transferred. Fourteen members of the Tokugawa clan headed the fief during the Edo Period. It was the only family to directly produce successors to the shogun, once in 1716 with Tokugawa Yoshimune
Tokugawa Yoshimune
was the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.-Lineage:...
and again in 1858 with Tokugawa Iemochi
Tokugawa Iemochi
was the 14th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of Japan's first major contact with the United States, which occurred under Commodore Perry in 1853 and 1854, and of the subsequent "re-opening" of...
.
The fifth Tokugawa daimyo of Kii was Yoshimune
Tokugawa Yoshimune
was the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.-Lineage:...
, who later became shogun and appointed a relative to head the Kii Han. Yoshimune established three new houses, the gosankyō
Gosankyo
The ' were three branches of the Tokugawa clan of Japan. They were descended from the eighth of the fifteen Tokugawa shoguns, Yoshimune . Yoshimune established the Gosankyo to augment the Gosanke, the heads of the powerful han of Owari, Kishū, and Mito...
, installing two sons and a grandson as their heads. The gosanke provided the model for the gosankyō. However, while Yoshimune granted lands to the gosankyō, the lands were not consolidated into coherent han
Han (Japan)
The or domain was the name of the estate belonging to a warrior in Japan after the 17th century. The fiefs of the daimyos of the samurai class of Japan during the Edo period were called han.-Edo period:...
, but instead were scattered in various places; the total holdings were also smaller than those of the gosanke. Eventually, one of the gosankyō houses, the Hitotsubashi
Hitotsubashi
is a name in Japan. The name appears in some contexts:*Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda, a place in Chiyoda, Tokyo*Hitotsubashi Group, a publishing keiretsu*Hitotsubashi University*Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa, a branch of the Tokugawa Clan...
house, produced two shoguns, once in 1787 (Tokugawa Ienari
Tokugawa Ienari
Tokugawa Ienari; 徳川 家斉 was the eleventh and longest serving shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office from 1787 to 1837.-First wife:...
) and again in 1866 (Tokugawa Yoshinobu
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
was the 15th and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful...
).
Mito House
Third in seniority among the Gosanke was the Mito branchMito branch
The are a branch of the Tokugawa clan based in Mito, Ibaraki.- History :Following the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu appointed his eleventh son, Tokugawa Yorifusa, as daimyo in 1608. With his appointment, Yorifusa became the founding member of the Mito branch of...
. Its founder was Tokugawa Yorifusa
Tokugawa Yorifusa
, also known as Mito Yorifusa, was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.- Biography :Known in his childhood as Tsuruchiyomaru, he was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun...
, the eleventh son of Ieyasu. Their fief was the Mito Han
Mito Domain
was a prominent feudal domain in Japan during the Edo period. Its capital was the city of Mito, and it covered much of present-day Ibaraki Prefecture. Beginning with the appointment of Tokugawa Yorifusa by his father, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, in 1608, the Mito branch of the Tokugawa clan...
in Hitachi Province
Hitachi Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Iwashiro, Iwaki, Shimousa, and Shimotsuke Provinces....
, with its castle in Mito
Mito, Ibaraki
is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and has a central location, moderately offset towards the coast in that prefecture. As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 263,748 and a total area is 217.45 km², giving a population density of 1,212.91 persons per km²...
and lands rated initially at 250,000 koku, and later (1710) at 350,000. Eleven men headed the house, including Tokugawa (Mito) Mitsukuni
Tokugawa Mitsukuni
or was a prominent daimyo who was known for his influence in the politics of the early Edo period. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa and succeeded him, becoming the second daimyo of the Mito domain....
. The Mito House was not allowed to provide a shogun, but only his vice. It did manage however to produce one when one of its sons, Tokugawa Yoshinobu
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
was the 15th and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful...
, was adopted by the Hitotsubashi (one of the Kii House's three Gosankyō) in 1848 and became the last shogun as a member of that house.
Owari House
- YoshinaoTokugawa Yoshinaowas a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.- Biography :Born as the ninth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, his childhood name was Gorōtamaru. While still a young child, he was appointed leader of first the fief of Kofu in Kai Province and later the fief of Kiyosu in Owari Province...
- MitsutomoTokugawa Mitsutomowas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain. He was taught Shinkage-ryū by the Owari Yagyū family. He proved so adept that he was named the 6th sōke by Yagyū Toshikane, and added a number of teaching concepts to the ryū....
- TsunanariTokugawa Tsunanariwas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain....
- YoshimichiTokugawa Yoshimichiwas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain....
- GorōtaTokugawa Gorotawas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain....
- TsugutomoTokugawa Tsugutomowas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan continued to exclude herself from practically all contact with the outside world, while internal peace reigned within the kingdom....
- MuneharuTokugawa Muneharuwas a daimyo in Japan during the Edo period. He was the seventh Tokugawa lord of the Owari Domain, and one of the gosanke.- Biography :Muneharu was the 20th son of Tokugawa Tsunanari by a concubine, and a great-great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu...
- MunekatsuTokugawa Munekatsuwas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Takasu Domain and then the Owari Domain. As lord of Takasu he used the name ....
- MunechikaTokugawa Munechikawas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain....
- NaritomoTokugawa Naritomowas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain....
- NariharuTokugawa Nariharuwas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain....
- NaritakaTokugawa Naritakawas a Japanese daimyo of the early late-Edo period. The son of the 11th shogun Tokugawa Ienari, he succeeded Tokugawa Narimasa as head of the Tayasu Tokugawa house, before succeeding to the Tokugawa house of Owari han in 1839....
- YoshitsuguTokugawa Yoshitsuguwas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain....
- Yoshikumi
- MochinagaTokugawa Mochinagawas a Japanese samurai who was an influential figure of the Bakumatsu period.- Biography :The son of Matsudaira Yoshitatsu of Takasu han, his brothers included the famous Matsudaira Katamori, Matsudaira Sadaaki, and Tokugawa Yoshikatsu...
- YoshinoriTokugawa Yoshinoriwas a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, who was the 14th lord of Owari....
- Yoshikatsu
The Owari House today
The 22nd head of the Owari House is Mr. (born 1961), who in 2005 succeeded his late father, becoming director of the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya. A Tokyo resident, he commutes to Nagoya during weekends. His main activities are the museum and realty management.Kii House
- Tokugawa YorinobuTokugawa Yorinobuwas a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.Born under the name Nagafukumaru, he was the 10th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, by his concubine Oman-no-kata. On December 8, 1603, Yorinobu received the fief of Mito, then rated at 200,000 koku, as his fief. Mito had formerly belonged to his older brother,...
(1601–1671, r. 1619-1667) - MitsusadaTokugawa Mitsusadawas a daimyo in Japan during the Edo period . He was the son and heir of Tokugawa Yorinobu and a grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu; among his sons was the eighth Tokugawa shogun Yoshimune. A daughter of his married Ichijō Kaneteru....
(1626–1705, r. 1667-1698) - Tsunanori (1665–1705, r. 1698-1705)
- Yorimoto (1680–1705, r. 1705)
- YoshimuneTokugawa Yoshimunewas the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.-Lineage:...
(1684–1751 , r. 1705-1716) (later became shogun with the same name) - Munenao (1682–1757, r. 1716-1757)
- MunemasaTokugawa Munemasawas a Japanese daimyo of the mid-Edo period, who ruled the Wakayama Domain.-References:...
(1720–1765, r. 1757-1765) - Shigenori (1746–1829, r. 1765-1775)
- Harusada (1728–1789, r. 1775-1789)
- Harutomi (1771–1852, r. 1789-1832)
- Nariyuki (1801–1846, r. 1832-1846)
- Narikatsu (1820–1849, r. 1846-1849)
- Yoshitomi (1846–1866, r. 1849-1858) (later became shogun with the name IemochiTokugawa Iemochiwas the 14th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of Japan's first major contact with the United States, which occurred under Commodore Perry in 1853 and 1854, and of the subsequent "re-opening" of...
) - Mochitsugu (1844–1906, r. 1858-1869)
The Kii House today
The 19th head of the Kii House is Ms (born in 1956). Although she isn't married and has no children, she was chosen as head of the clan because there were no other direct descendants of the clan. An architect, she owns and operates her own construction company in GinzaGinza
is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...
, Tokyo. Unlike the other two, the Kii House does not have a museum of its own, and has given its properties of historical value to museums as the Wakayama Prefectural Museum.
Mito House
- YorifusaTokugawa Yorifusa, also known as Mito Yorifusa, was a Japanese daimyo of the early Edo period.- Biography :Known in his childhood as Tsuruchiyomaru, he was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun...
- MitsukuniTokugawa Mitsukunior was a prominent daimyo who was known for his influence in the politics of the early Edo period. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa and succeeded him, becoming the second daimyo of the Mito domain....
- Tsunaeda
- MunetakaTokugawa Munetakawas a Japanese daimyo of the mid-Edo period, who ruled the Mito Domain. He was the son of Matsudaira Yoritoyo, the lord of the Takamatsu Domain....
- MunemotoTokugawa Munemotowas a Japanese daimyo of the mid-Edo period who ruled the Mito Domain.-References:...
- Harumori
- HarutoshiTokugawa Harutoshiwas a Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, who ruled the Mito Domain....
- Narinobu
- NariakiTokugawa NariakiTokugawa Nariaki was a prominent Japanese daimyo who ruled the Mito domain and contributed to the rise of nationalism and the Meiji restoration.- Clan leader :...
- Yoshiatsu
- AkitakeTokugawa Akitakewas a younger brother of the Japanese Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu. He was born in Komagome, Tokyo, as the 18th son of Tokugawa Nariaki. Initially lord of Aizu, he became lord of Shimizu before his departure for France.-Biography:...