Tsunenari Tokugawa (徳川 恒孝, Tokugawa Tsunenari, born 26 February 1940) is the former 18th generation head of the Tokugawa clan. He is the son of Ichirō Matsudaira and Toyoko Tokugawa. His great-grandfather was the famed Matsudaira Katamori of Aizu and his paternal great-grandfather was Tokugawa Iesato. As a great-grandson of Shimazu Tadayoshi, the last lord of Satsuma Domain, he is also a second cousin of the former Emperor, Akihito.

Tokugawa Tsunenari
徳川恒孝
Head of the Tokugawa House
Reign18 February 1963 – 1 January 2023[1]
PredecessorIemasa Tokugawa
SuccessorIehiro Tokugawa
Born (1940-02-26) 26 February 1940 (age 84)
Tokyo, Japan
IssueIehiro Tokugawa 徳川家広
FatherIchirō Matsudaira
MotherToyoko Tokugawa

Tsunenari was active for many years in the shipping company Nippon Yūsen, retiring in June, 2002, and is the head of the nonprofit Tokugawa Foundation.[2] The nonprofit aims to preserve the remaining cultural treasures of the Tokugawa family, many of which were lost in the Meiji Restoration and World War II U.S. bombings.[2] In 2007, Tsunenari published a book entitled Edo no idenshi (江戸の遺伝子), released in English in 2009 as The Edo Inheritance, which seeks to counter the common belief among Japanese that the Edo period (throughout which members of his Tokugawa clan ruled Japan as shōguns) was like a Dark Age, when Japan, cut off from the world, fell behind. On the contrary, he argues, the roughly 250 years of peace and relative prosperity saw great economic reforms, the growth of a sophisticated urban culture, and the development of the most urbanized society on the planet.[3]

Tokugawa stepped down from being the head of the Tokugawa clan on 1 January 2023.[1] His son, author and translator Iehiro Tokugawa, took over the role.[1][4]

Family

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Ancestry

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Patrilineal descent

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Patrilineal descent

Tokugawa's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son.

The existence of a verifiable link between the Nitta clan and the Tokugawa/Matsudaira clan remains somewhat in dispute.

  1. Descent prior to Keitai is unclear to modern historians, but traditionally traced back patrilineally to Emperor Jimmu
  2. Emperor Keitai, ca. 450–534
  3. Emperor Kinmei, 509–571
  4. Emperor Bidatsu, 538–585
  5. Prince Oshisaka, ca. 556–???
  6. Emperor Jomei, 593–641
  7. Emperor Tenji, 626–671
  8. Prince Shiki, ????–716
  9. Emperor Kōnin, 709–786
  10. Emperor Kanmu, 737–806
  11. Emperor Saga, 786–842
  12. Emperor Ninmyō, 810–850
  13. Emperor Montoku 826–858
  14. Emperor Seiwa, 850–881
  15. Prince Sadazumi, 873–916
  16. Minamoto no Tsunemoto, 894–961
  17. Minamoto no Mitsunaka, 912–997
  18. Minamoto no Yorinobu, 968–1048
  19. Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, 988–1075
  20. Minamoto no Yoshiie, 1039–1106
  21. Minamoto no Yoshikuni, 1091–1155
  22. Minamoto no Yoshishige, 1135–1202
  23. Nitta Yoshikane, 1139–1206
  24. Nitta Yoshifusa, 1162–1195
  25. Nitta Masayoshi, 1187–1257
  26. Nitta Masauji, 1208–1271
  27. Nitta Motouji, 1253–1324
  28. Nitta Tomouji, 1274–1318
  29. Nitta Yoshisada, 1301–1338
  30. Nitta Yoshimune, 1331?–1368
  31. Tokugawa Chikasue?, ????–???? (speculated)
  32. Tokugawa Arichika, ????–????
  33. Matsudaira Chikauji, d. 1393?
  34. Matsudaira Yasuchika, ????–14??
  35. Matsudaira Nobumitsu, c. 1404–1488/89?
  36. Matsudaira Chikatada, 1430s–1501
  37. Masudaira Nagachika, 1473–1544
  38. Matsudaira Nobutada, 1490–1531
  39. Matsudaira Kiyoyasu, 1511–1536
  40. Matsudaira Hirotada, 1526–1549
  41. Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1st Tokugawa shōgun (1543–1616)
  42. Tokugawa Yorifusa, 1st daimyō of Mito (1603–1661)
  43. Matsudaira Yorishige, 1st daimyō of Takamatsu (1622–1695)
  44. Matsudaira Yoriyuki (1661–1687)
  45. Matsudaira Yoritoyo, 3rd daimyō of Takamatsu (1680–1735)
  46. Tokugawa Munetaka, 4th daimyō of Mito (1705–1730)
  47. Tokugawa Munemoto, 5th daimyō of Mito (1728–1766)
  48. Tokugawa Harumori, 6th daimyō of Mito (1751–1805)
  49. Matsudaira Yoshinari, 9th daimyō of Takasu (1776–1832)
  50. Matsudaira Yoshitatsu, 10th daimyō of Takasu (1800–1862)
  51. Matsudaira Katamori, 9th daimyō of Aizu (1836–1893)
  52. Tsuneo Matsudaira (1877–1949)
  53. Ichirō Matsudaira (1907–1992)
  54. Tsunenari Tokugawa (born 1940)

References

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  1. ^ a b c Morishita, Kae. "Tokugawa clan's place in history assured, says new family head". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b Yoshida, Reiji (15 September 2002). "Where are they now?". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  3. ^ "The Edo Inheritance by Tokugawa Tsunenari". International House of Japan. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  4. ^ Jeffs, Angela (8 November 2008). "Translating in the spirit of samurai". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2 November 2019.

Further reading

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Preceded by Tokugawa family head
February 18, 1963 – January 1, 2023
Succeeded by