Gosanke
As Tokugawa Gosanke ( Japanese 御三家 , literally "the honorable three houses") three secondary lines of the main house are Tokugawa - shogunate in the Edo period referred that the three youngest sons of the family founder Tokugawa Ieyasu decline. Specifically, these are the Owari house of Yoshinao , the Kishu house of Yorinobu , and the Mito house of Yorifusa . The Gosanke should not be confused with the Gosankyō, which were later created based on their model .
They had the highest rank within the Shimpan families , and were allowed to use the Tokugawa family name and the family crest with the three hollyhock leaves just like the Tokugawa main line and the Gosankyō. The ostensible task of the heads of house was to assist the Shogun as an adviser to Dainagon , but this position was more of a title than administrative office. On the contrary, as Shimpan daimyo, they were excluded from the actual advisory ranks in the Shogunate; these posts were given to the Fudai daimyo . In fact, the Gosanke of Tokugawa Ieyasu were appointed to ensure the continued existence of the house, that is, to provide an heir who could be adopted by the main line if no son was born there.
The houses
| Surname | Kanji | Fiefdom | Today's prefecture | Progenitor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owari-Tokugawa | 尾張 徳 川 家 | Owari | Aichi | Tokugawa Yoshinao , 9th son of Ieyasu |
| Kishū-Tokugawa (also: Kii) | 紀 州 徳 川 家 , 紀 伊 徳 川 家 | Kishu | Wakayama | Tokugawa Yorinobu , 10th son of Ieyasu |
| Mito-Tokugawa | 水 戸 徳 川 氏 | Mito | Ibaraki | Tokugawa Yorifusa , 11th son of Ieyasu |
history
All three Gosanke can be traced back to later sons of Tokugawa Ieyasu:
- Ieyasu's eldest son and ancestor, Matsudaira Nobuyasu , who was still born under Ieyasu's original family name , died as early as 1579 on the instructions of Oda Nobunaga by Seppuku .
- His second son, who later became Yūki Hideyasu , was the son of Oman, a maid of his wife Tsukiyama. He later became the daimyo of Fukui , but his line did not belong to the House of Tokugawa.
- Ieyasu's third son, Tokugawa Hidetada , eventually became the ancestor of the Tokugawa line.
- Ieyasu's sixth son Matsudaira Tadateru fell out of favor with his older brother Hidetada and was banished; his son died childless.
- Ieyasu's ninth son, Yoshinao, founded the Owari line.
- Ieyasu's tenth son Yorinobu founded the Kishu lineage.
- Ieyasu's eleventh son, Yorifusa, founded the Mito lineage.
In establishing his shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu filled key posts with family members. His ninth son, Yoshinao, he set up as daimyo of Nagoya ( Owari province ), his tenth son Yorinobu as daimyo of Kishu ( province of Kii ), and his eleventh son Yorifusa as daimyo of Mito ( province of Hitachi ). The names of the branch families were derived from the names of their fiefdoms.
At the beginning of the Edo period, the term referred to the stem line, the Owari line and the Kishu line. The Owari and Kishu lines received from Ieyasu the right to adopt the next daimyo in the main line if there was no inheritance there. This case occurred in 1716 when the 7th Shogun, Tokugawa Ietsugu , died at the age of 7. Tokugawa Yoshimune , the 8th Shogun, was adopted from the House of Kishu, and his descendants provided the 9th to 13th Shogun. The 13th Shogun, Tokugawa Iesada , was childless, which is why the 14th Shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi , was adopted from the Kishu branch line. There was fierce competition between the Kishu and Owari houses for successors to the rank of Shogun. So is Tokugawa Muneharu from the Owari-line suspected of poisoning the eighth shogun Yoshimune to have prompted.
The Mito lineage was not granted the right to use the Tokugawa family name until 1636, after the Suruga family was dissolved. Although their rank was below that of the other families, they were run across from the imperial court as the successor house for the Shogun. Therefore, from around the time of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi , the 5th Tokugawa Shogun, people spoke of the Gosanke, the three honorable houses.
The last shogun, Yoshinobu , was born in the Mito house, but was then given to the Hitotsubashi branch of the Gosankyō branch as an adopted child .
After the abolition of the Shogunate and the introduction of the Kazoku system during the Meiji Restoration in 1869, the heads of the Gosanke were raised to the second rank, that of a margrave ( 侯爵 , kōshaku ). In 1929 the head of Mito was raised to the highest rank, that of a prince ( 公爵 , kōshaku ).
Owari house
The Owari are the oldest of the three Gosanke lines. The founder of the house was Tokugawa Yoshinao , the ninth son of Ieyasu. He and his heirs were the feudal lords of Owari and resided in Nagoya Castle . Her fiefdom was measured at 619,500 koku rice and was the largest of the three. Despite its higher position, the house never hosted a shogun.
genealogy
- Yoshinao
- Mitsutomo
- Tsunanari
- Yoshimichi
- Gorōta
- Tsugutomo
- Muneharu
- Munekatsu
- Munechika
- Naritomo
- Nariharu
- Naritaka
- Yoshitsugu
- Yoshikumi
- Mochinaga
- Yoshinori
- Yoshikatsu
today
The current, 22nd head of the Owari lineage is Tokugawa Yoshitaka ( 徳 川 義 崇 ; * 1961), director of the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya.
House Kii
The second house in the ranking was Kii, also known as Kishū. It was founded by Tokugawa Yorinobu, the tenth son of Ieyasu. His family owned the Kishu fiefdom with Wakayama Castle and a valuation of 555,000 koku rice. His line was transferred to this fiefdom in 1619. Two sons of Kishu were adopted into the main line, in 1716 and 1858. The fifth daimyo of Kii, Yoshimune , rose to become shogun and installed a parallel system of subsidiary lines, the Gosankyō, which included the Tayasu, Shimizu and Hitotsubashi.
genealogy
- Tokugawa Yorinobu (1601–1671, head of the house 1619–1667)
- Mitsusada (1626–1705, chief 1667–1698)
- Tsunanori (1665–1705, chief 1698–1705)
- Yorimoto (1680–1705, chief 1705)
- Yoshimune (1684–1751, chief 1705–1716) (later Shogun)
- Munenao (1682–1757, chief 1716–1757)
- Munemasa (1720–1765, chief 1757–1765)
- Shigenori (1746–1829, chief 1765–1775)
- Harusada (1728–1789, chief 1775–1789)
- Harutomi (1771–1852, chief 1789–1832)
- Nariyuki (1801–1846, chief 1832–1846)
- Narikatsu (1820–1849, chief 1846–1849)
- Yoshitomi (1846–1866, head 1849–1858) (later Shogun Iemochi )
- Mochitsugu (1844–1906, chief 1858–1869)
today
19. The head of the House of Kii is Tokugawa Kotoko ( 徳 川 宜 子 ; * 1956), an architect.
House Mito
Third in the rank of Gosanke is House Mito. It goes back to Tokugawa Yorifusa, the 11th son of Ieyasu. They owned the Mito fief in what is now Ibaraki , with Mito Castle as their seat and an income of 250,000 koku, later 350,000 koku. The House of Mito itself was not entitled to provide an heir for the rank of Shogun. Tokugawa Yoshinobu was, however, by adoption into the house of Hitotsubashi (one of the three Gosankyō of Kii) to the candidate for the successor and finally became the 15th and last Shogun.
genealogy
today
15 head of the House Mito Tokugawa Narimasa ( 徳川斉正 * 1958), director of the Shōkōkan Tokugawa Museum Mito and employee of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd .
Literature and Sources
- Asahi Shimbun , October 1, 2009, evening issue, page 1. Kafū sorezore Tokugawa Gosanke
- Iwanami Kōjien ( 広 辞 苑 ) Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version
- Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten ( 岩 波 日本史 辞典 ), CD-Rom version. Iwanami Shoten, 1999-2001.
- Jacques Edmond Joseph Papinot: Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan . Kelly & Walsh, Yokohama 1910; Reprint: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo 1972, ISBN 0-8048-0996-8 .