was the 4th-generation head of the '' Tokugawa Yoshinobu-ke'', the branch of the Tokugawa line started by the last

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Kazoku, Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned his position as shogun in late 1867, while ai ...

Biography

Born in Sena, in

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

, he went to school in Tokyo, later engaging in a career in photographyTokugawa Yoshitomo, ''Tokugawa Yoshinobu-ke ni yōkoso'', pp. 124-127 (incidentally, the hobby of his great-grandfather) and graphic design with

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

. Later a freelance author, he spent his time writing about the history of his family after the Meiji Restoration. He also sold coffee under the brand name ''Tokugawa Shōgun Kōhī''. Through his mother's side of the family, Yoshitomo is also a descendant of Matsudaira Katamori.

Death

Yoshitomo died on September 25, 2017, in a hospital in Mito,

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

, at the age of 67.

Principal works

*''Tokugawa Yoshinobu-ke ni Youkoso''. Tokyo: Bungei-shunju, 2003. *''Tokugawa Yoshinobu-ke no Shokutaku''. Tokyo: Bungei-shunju, 2005.

Ancestry

Patrilineal descent

Tokugawa's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. The existence of a verifiable link between the

Nitta clan The was one of several major families descended from the Seiwa Genji, and numbered among the chief enemies of the Hōjō clan regents, and later the Ashikaga shogunate. The common ancestor of the Nitta, Minamoto no Yoshishige (1135–1202), wa ...

and the Tokugawa/Matsudaira clan remains somewhat in dispute. #Descent prior to Keitai is unclear to modern historians, but traditionally traced back patrilineally to

Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Emperor Keitai (died 10 March 531) was the 26th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 継体天皇 (26)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but he is conve ...

, ca. 450–534 #

Emperor Kinmei was the 29th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 欽明天皇 (29) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)pp. 34–36 Brown, Delmer. (1979) ''Gukanshō,'' pp. 261–2 ...

, 509–571 # Emperor Bidatsu, 538–585 #Prince Oshisaka, ca. 556–??? #

Emperor Jomei was the 34th emperor of Japan,Kunaichō 斉明天皇 (34)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Jomei's reign spanned the years from 629 through 641. Traditional narrative Before Jomei's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, ...

, 593–641 #

Emperor Tenji , known first as and later as until his accession, was the 38th emperor of Japan who reigned from 668 to 671. He was the son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Kōgyoku (Empress Saimei), and his children included Empress Jitō, Empress Genmei, an ...

, 626–671 #Prince Shiki, ????–716 #

Emperor Kōnin was the 49th emperor of Japan, Emperor Kōnin, Tahara no Higashi Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Kōnin's reign lasted from 770 to 781. Traditional narrative The personal name of ...

, 709–786 #

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kammu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scop ...

, 737–806 #

Emperor Saga was the 52nd emperor of Japan, Emperor Saga, Saganoyamanoe Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Saga's reign lasted from 809 to 823. Traditional narrative Saga was the second son of ...

, 786–842 #

Emperor Ninmyō was the 54th emperor of Japan, Emperor Ninmyō, Fukakusa Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Ninmyō's reign lasted from 833 to 850, during the Heian period. Traditional narrative Nin ...

, 810–850 #

Emperor Montoku (August 827 – 7 October 858) was the 55th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 文徳天皇 (55)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Montoku's reign lasted from 850 to 858. Traditional narrative Before ...

826-858 #

Emperor Seiwa was the 56th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 清和天皇 (56)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Seiwa's reign spanned the years from 858 through 876. Traditional narrative Seiwa was the fourth ...

, 850-881 #Prince Sadazumi, 873-916 # Minamoto no Tsunemoto, 894-961 # Minamoto no Mitsunaka, 912-997 #

Minamoto no Yorinobu was a samurai commander and member of the powerful Minamoto clan. Along with his brother Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Yorimitsu, Yorinobu served the regents of the Fujiwara clan, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. ...

, 968-1048 #

Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was a Japanese samurai lord who was the head of the Minamoto clan and served as '' Chinjufu-shōgun''. Along with his son Minamoto no Yoshiie, he led the Imperial forces against rebellious forces in the north, a campaign called the Zenkunen War, ...

, 988-1075 #

Minamoto no Yoshiie , also known as and his title , was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' (Commander-in-chief of the defense of the North). The first son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, he proved himself in battle with the Ab ...

, 1039-1106 #

Minamoto no Yoshikuni was son of famous samurai Minamoto no Yoshiie, and was an ancestor of the Ashikaga clan, Ashikaga and Nitta clan, Nitta clans. Yoshikuni was the samurai who first implored the spirit of the Iwashimizu Shrine to start living in this bamboo grove a ...

, 1091-1155 #

Minamoto no Yoshishige was the progenitor of the cadet Nitta branch family of the Minamoto samurai clan, who fought alongside the Minamoto in the Genpei War. He is also known as Nitta Tarō and Nitta Yoshishige. His father was Minamoto no Yoshikuni and his grandfat ...

, 1114-1202 # Nitta Yoshikane, 1139-1206 # Nitta Yoshifusa, 1162-1195 # Nitta Masayoshi, 1187-1257 # Nitta Masauji, 1208-1271 # Nitta Motouji, 1253-1324 # Nitta Tomouji, 1274-1318 #

Nitta Yoshisada also known as Minamoto no Yoshisada was a samurai lord of the Nanboku-chō period Japan. He was the head of the Nitta clan in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period. He famo ...

, 1301-1338 # Nitta Yoshimune, 1331?-1368 #Tokugawa Chikasue?, ????-???? (speculated) #Tokugawa Arichika, ????-???? #Matsudaira Chikauji, d. 1393? #Matsudaira Yasuchika, ????-14?? #Matsudaira Nobumitsu, – 1488/89? #Matsudaira Chikatada, 1430s-1501 #Masudaira Nagachika, 1473-1544 #Matsudaira Nobutada, 1490-1531 #

Matsudaira Kiyoyasu was the 7th lord over the Matsudaira clan during the Sengoku period (16th century) of Japan. Kiyoyasu was the paternal grandfather of the third "great unifier of Japan", Tokugawa Ieyasu. Biography Kiyoyasu gained control of the whole of northe ...

, 1511-1536 #

Matsudaira Hirotada was the lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa province, Japan during the Sengoku Period of the 16th century. He is best known for being the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Biography Hirotada was the son of Matsudaira ...

, 1526-1549 #

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 ...

, 1st Tokugawa Shōgun (1543-1616) #

Tokugawa Yorifusa , also known as Mito Yorifusa, was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Biography Known in his childhood as Tsuruchiyomaru (鶴千代丸), he was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun with his concubine, Ka ...

, 1st Lord of Mito (1603-1661) # Matsudaira Yorishige, 1st Lord of Takamatsu (1622-1695) # Matsudaira Yoriyuki (1661-1687) # Matsudaira Yoritoyo, 3rd Lord of Takamatsu (1680-1735) # Tokugawa Munetaka, 4th Lord of Mito (1705-1730) # Tokugawa Munemoto, 5th Lord of Mito (1728-1766) #Tokugawa Harumori, 6th Lord of Mito (1751-1805) # Tokugawa Harutoshi, 7th Lord of Mito (1773-1816) #

Tokugawa Nariaki Tokugawa Nariaki (徳川斉昭, April 4, 1800 – September 29, 1860) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' who ruled the Mito Domain (now Ibaraki Prefecture) and contributed to the rise of nationalism and the Meiji Restoration. Biography Clan leader ...

, 9th Lord of Mito (1800-1860) #

, 15th Tokugawa Shōgun (1837-1913) # Yoshihisa Tokugawa (1884-1922) # Yoshimitsu Tokugawa (1913-1993) #Yoshitomo Tokugawa (1950-2017)

Notes

References

* Tokugawa, Yoshitomo. ''Tokugawa Yoshinobu-ke ni yōkoso: waga ie ni tsutawaru aisubeki "saigo no shōgun" no yokogao''. Tokyo: Bunshun-bunko, 2005. Tokugawa Yoshinobu family 1950 births 2017 deaths People from Shizuoka (city) Japanese photographers Honda people Seijo University alumni {{japan-bio-stub