Tokugawa clan

Tokugawa
徳川
Tokugawa clan mon
Home province
Parent house
TitlesVarious
Founder
Final rulerTokugawa Yoshinobu
Current headIehiro Tokugawa
Founding year
  • 1567
Ruled until
Cadet branchesVarious, including

The Tokugawa clan (徳川氏, Tokugawa-shi, Tokugawa-uji; Japanese pronunciation: [to.kɯꜜ.ɡa.wa, -ŋa.wa, -kɯ.ɡa.waꜜ.ɕi, -ŋa.waꜜ-]) is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful daimyō family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of the clan remains a mystery. Nominally, the Matsudaira clan is said to be descended from the Nitta clan, a branch of the Minamoto clan, but this is considered to be untrue or unlikely.