The ancestor of Tokugawa Ieyasu was a beggar monk who, after wandering in various countries, drifted to Matsudaira-go in Mikawa Province. His talent was recognized by Matsudaira Nobushige, a lord descended from the Urahara or Kamo clan, who adopted him as his son-in-law and took the name Matsudaira Chikauji. Nevertheless, Ieyasu’s lineage can be traced back to Minamoto no Yoshiie, who is related to the Seiwa Minamoto clan. What is the truth behind this?
Did he take advantage of the fact that the family name of Nitta Yoshishige’s son, Yoshisue, was “Tokugawa”?
It is commonly believed that the ancestor of Tokugawa Ieyasu was a beggar monk named Tokuami. After wandering around the country, he’s said to have drifted to Matsudaira-go in Mikawa Province, where his talent was recognized by Matsudaira Nobushige, a lord who was descended from the Urahara clan or Kamo clan, and he became his adopted son-in-law, taking the name Matsudaira Chikauji.
Despite this, it is strange that if you trace Ieyasu’s lineage, you will eventually reach the Seiwa Genji clan. Among them are Yoshishige Nitta, who was based in Nitta-sho in Kozuke Province, and his grandfather, Hachiman Taro, also known as Minamoto no Yoshiie, who made a name for himself as a warlord. He was also the sixth generation from Emperor Seiwa and a direct descendant of the Kawachi Genji, one of the branches of the Emperor Seiwa Genji.
The eminent lineage of the Seiwa Genji, which could not have been more distinguished as a warrior family, is quite astonishing, but needless to say, it was a fabrication. It is often said that Ieyasu forcefully incorporated his own lineage into that of the Seiwa Minamoto clan because of the unwritten rule that a person appointed as a shogun must be of the Seiwa Minamoto clan lineage.
According to one theory, Ieyasu purchased the genealogy from the Kira family, which is linked to the Nitta clan lineage, and in return, he appointed the Kira family to the high house in charge of ceremonial manners of the shogunate… but the truth of this theory is unknown.
Emphasizing the Tokugawa clan as a Nitta-line Genji alongside the Minamoto Genji and Ashikaga clans that founded the shogunate
Among the various branches of the Seiwa Genji clan, the Tokugawa family chose the aforementioned Nitta Yoshishige as their ancestor. His son, Yoshisue, took the surname “Tokugawa”, which Ieyasu later changed to his own name.
Yoshiyasu of the Ashikaga lineage and Yoshishige of the Nitta lineage, split off from Yoshikuni, a son of Yoshiie. While the former led to Ashikaga Takauji, who founded the Muromachi Shogunate, the latter led through Matsudaira Kiyoyasu to Ieyasu.
Since the Muromachi shogunate established by the Ashikaga clan had fallen, the lineage could be read as if Ieyasu, a descendant of the Nitta clan on the other side, was the most suitable person to open a new shogunate as the Seiyo-tai shogun.
By Utagawa Yoshitora, National Institute of Japanese Literature, Museum of Japanese Literature
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