The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto members, including Minamoto no Yoshitsune,

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate; and

Ashikaga Takauji also known as Minamoto no Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. ...

, the founder of the Ashikaga shogunate, belonged to this line.

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

(1543–1616), founder of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, also claimed descent from this lineage. The family is named after Emperor Seiwa, whose four sons and twelve grandsons founded the Seiwa Genji. Emperor Seiwa was father of Imperial Prince Sadazumi (貞純親王 ''Sadazumi Shinnō'') (873–916), who was in turn the father of Minamoto no Tsunemoto (源経基) (894–961), one of the founders of the Seiwa Genji, from whom most Seiwa Genji members are descended. Many samurai families belong to this line and used "Minamoto" clan name in official records, such as the Ashikaga, Hatakeyama, Hosokawa, Imagawa, Mori, Nanbu, Nitta, Ogasawara, Ōta, Satake, Satomi, Shiba, Takeda, Toki and the Tsuchiya, among others. The Shimazu and Tokugawa clans also claimed to belong to this line. A group of Shinto shrines connected closely with the clan is known as the Three Genji Shrines (源氏三神社 ''Genji San Jinja'').

Family tree

The following family trees are a non-exhaustive listing of the Seiwa Genji and the clans that branched from the family. ''Legend: Solid lines represent blood relationship; dashed lines represent adoptions. An asterisk indicates a monk (who would not have been allowed to retain the Minamoto name).''

Emperor Seiwa's first five princes

Prince Sadazumi's descendants

Emperor Seiwa's other princes

Settsu Genji

Yamato Genji

Kawachi Genji

Yoshimitsu's descendants

Mitsumasa's descendants

Mitsuyoshi's descendants

Citations

{{Reflist

General and cited references

* Sansom, George (1958). ''A History of Japan to 1334''. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. * Turnbull, Stephen (1998). ''The Samurai Sourcebook''. London: Cassell & Co. Minamoto clan