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The Tokugawa served as the [[Shogun|Shôgun]] of Japan from [[1603]] until [[1867]] and were therefore the longest - and most stable - of Japan's three [[Bakufu|bakufu]]. The Tokugawa's actual roots are obscure for while [[Tokugawa Ieyasu|Ieyasu]] claimed descent from the Nitta and therefore the Seiwa-Minamoto, there seems to be little historical evidence of this. The genealogy Ieyasu commissioned claimed that a branch of the Kôzuke Nitta had taken the name Tokugawa and later transferred to [[Mikawa province]], where it was adopted into the [[Matsudaira clan]]. In fact, Ieyasu also maintained an alternate family history that suggested Fujiwara roots - which supports the supposition that the Tokugawa's early family tree was largely made out of whole cloth. The Tokugawa were 'officially' restored when Ieyasu petitioned the court to allow him to use the name Tokugawa in [[1566]].

The Tokugawa served as the [[Shogun|Shôgun]] of Japan from [[1603]] until [[1867]] and were therefore the longest - and most stable - of Japan's three [[Bakufu|bakufu]]. The Tokugawa's actual roots are obscure for while [[Tokugawa Ieyasu|Ieyasu]] claimed descent from the Nitta and therefore the Seiwa-Minamoto, there seems to be little historical evidence of this. The genealogy Ieyasu commissioned claimed that a branch of the Kôzuke Nitta had taken the name Tokugawa and later transferred to [[Mikawa province]], where it was adopted into the [[Matsudaira clan]]. In fact, Ieyasu also maintained an alternate family history that suggested Fujiwara roots - which supports the supposition that the Tokugawa's early family tree was largely made out of whole cloth. The Tokugawa were 'officially' restored when Ieyasu petitioned the court to allow him to use the name Tokugawa in [[1566]].

They became the new Shôgun following the [[Battle of Sekigahara]] ([[1600]]) and a formal endorsement by the court in [[1603]]. Ieyasu established three branch families whose role it was to provide heirs when the main line was unable to do so - these branches, the [[Kii Tokugawa clan|Kii]], [[Mito Tokugawa clan|Mito]], and [[Owari Tokugawa clan|Owari]] lines, came to be known as the ''[[Gosanke]]''  (lit. "honorable three houses"), and were of particularly elite status within Edo period Japan. To these would in time be added a number of junior branches, namely, the [[Hitotsubashi Tokugawa clan|Hitotsubashi]], [[Shimizu Tokugawa clan|Shimizu]], and [[Tayasu Tokugawa clan|Tayasu]]. Along with other members of the Matsudaira clan, the lords of these lines were known collectively as the ''[[shinpan]] daimyô''.

They became the new Shôgun following the [[Battle of Sekigahara]] ([[1600]]) and a formal endorsement by the court in [[1603]]. Ieyasu established three branch families whose role it was to provide heirs when the main line was unable to do so - these branches, the [[Kii Tokugawa clan|Kii]], [[Mito Tokugawa clan|Mito]], and [[Owari Tokugawa clan|Owari]] lines, came to be known as the ''[[Gosanke]]''  (lit. "honorable three houses"), and were of particularly elite status within Edo period Japan. To these would in time be added a number of junior branches known collectively as the ''[[Gosankyo|Gosankyô]]'': namely, the [[Hitotsubashi Tokugawa clan|Hitotsubashi]], [[Shimizu Tokugawa clan|Shimizu]], and [[Tayasu Tokugawa clan|Tayasu]]. Along with roughly seventeen families retaining the name "Matsudaira," the lords of these lines were known collectively as the ''kamon'' or ''[[shinpan]] daimyô'', or as "collateral" houses. Members of these six lineages (the ''gosanke'' and the ''gosankyô''), along with those of the mainline Tokugawa lineage, were the only ones eligible to become shogun. However, members of these collateral houses were not eligible to become ''[[roju|rôjû]]''.<ref>Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), xxiv-xxv.</ref>

"Tokugawa," like [[Taira clan|Taira]], [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara]], [[Minamoto clan|Minamoto]], and [[Toyotomi clan|Toyotomi]], was an aristocratic clan name, bestowed by the Emperor. This set the Tokugawa apart from those who bore merely a samurai surname, such as Matsudaira,<ref>Only certain branches of Ieyasu's family - the ''Gosanke'' and junior branches mentioned above - were permitted to use the name Tokugawa; lesser branches continued to use the name Matsudaira.</ref> and who were thus ''[[jigenin]]'', outsiders to the Court aristocracy.

"Tokugawa," like [[Taira clan|Taira]], [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara]], [[Minamoto clan|Minamoto]], and [[Toyotomi clan|Toyotomi]], was an aristocratic clan name, bestowed by the Emperor. This set the Tokugawa apart from those who bore merely a samurai surname, such as Matsudaira,<ref>Only certain branches of Ieyasu's family - the ''Gosanke'' and ''Gosankyô'' mentioned above - were permitted to use the name Tokugawa; lesser branches continued to use the name Matsudaira.</ref> and who were thus ''[[jigenin]]'', outsiders to the Court aristocracy.

==Tokugawa Lineage==

==Tokugawa Lineage==