(born 7 February 1965) is an author, translator, and the heir to the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

. His great-great-grandfather was the famed Matsudaira Katamori of

Aizu is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The princip ...

, and his maternal great-great-grandfather was

Tokugawa Iesato Prince was the first head of the Tokugawa clan after the overthrow of the Tokugawa bakufu, and a significant figure in Japanese politics and diplomacy during the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japan. When Prince Tokugawa travelled to ...

, the sixteenth head of the

Life

Tokugawa graduated from

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endowmen ...

before completing a doctorate of economics at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He is fluent in English, and translated from Japanese a book written by his father,

Tsunenari Tokugawa is the present (18th generation) head of the main Tokugawa house. He is the son of Ichirō Matsudaira and Toyoko Tokugawa. His great-grandfather was the famed Matsudaira Katamori of Aizu and his paternal great-grandfather was Tokugawa Iesato. ...

titled ''Edo no idenshi'' (江戸の遺伝子) or ''The Edo Inheritance''. He has translated books by Tony Blair, George Soros, George Friedman, Amy Chua, Frances McCall Rosenbluth and Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book 'Green Zone' into the Japanese language. He has also worked for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

. In 2019, Tokugawa attempted to win a seat on the House of Councillors for the Shizuoka District, which he lost. He ran as a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and campaigned on completely decommissioning the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant, which was shut down following the

Fukushima nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...

in 2011.

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 ...

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 # Emperor Keitai, 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– ...

, 509–571 #

Emperor Bidatsu was the 30th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')敏達天皇 (30) retrieved 2013-1-31. according to the traditional order of succession. The years of reign of Bidatsu start in 572 and end in 585; however, there are no c ...

, 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, 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. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...

, 737–806 # Emperor Saga, 786–842 # Emperor Ninmyō, 810–850 # Emperor Montoku 826-858 # Emperor Seiwa, 850-881 #Prince Sadazumi, 873-916 #

Minamoto no Tsunemoto was a samurai and Imperial Prince during Japan's Heian period, one of the progenitors of the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan. He was a son of Sadazumi-shinnō and grandson of Emperor Seiwa. Legend has it that Tsunemoto, in his childhood, ...

, 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 Yorimitsu, Yorinobu served the regents of the Fujiwara clan, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. He held the title, p ...

, 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, 1039-1106 # Minamoto no Yoshikuni, 1091-1155 #

Minamoto no Yoshishige was the progenitor of the 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 grandfather Mina ...

, 1114-1202 #

Nitta Yoshikane Nitta may refer to: Places * Nitta, Sweden, a locality in Ulricehamn Municipality, Västra Götaland County of Sweden * Nitta, Gunma; a.k.a. Nitta, Nitta, Gunma, Japan. A town in the district of Nitta of the prefecture of Gunma in Japan * Nitta Di ...

, 1139-1206 #

Nitta Yoshifusa Nitta may refer to: Places * Nitta, Sweden, a locality in Ulricehamn Municipality, Västra Götaland County of Sweden * Nitta, Gunma; a.k.a. Nitta, Nitta, Gunma, Japan. A town in the district of Nitta of the prefecture of Gunma in Japan * Nitta Di ...

, 1162-1195 #

Nitta Masayoshi Nitta may refer to: Places * Nitta, Sweden, a locality in Ulricehamn Municipality, Västra Götaland County of Sweden * Nitta, Gunma; a.k.a. Nitta, Nitta, Gunma, Japan. A town in the district of Nitta of the prefecture of Gunma in Japan * Nitta Di ...

, 1187-1257 #

Nitta Masauji Nitta may refer to: Places * Nitta, Sweden, a locality in Ulricehamn Municipality, Västra Götaland County of Sweden * Nitta, Gunma; a.k.a. Nitta, Nitta, Gunma, Japan. A town in the district of Nitta of the prefecture of Gunma in Japan * Nitta Di ...

, 1208-1271 #

Nitta Motouji Nitta may refer to: Places * Nitta, Sweden, a locality in Ulricehamn Municipality, Västra Götaland County of Sweden * Nitta, Gunma; a.k.a. Nitta, Nitta, Gunma, Japan. A town in the district of Nitta of the prefecture of Gunma in Japan * Nitta Di ...

, 1253-1324 # Nitta Tomouji, 1274-1318 # Nitta Yoshisada, 1301-1338 #

Nitta Yoshimune was the third son of Nitta Yoshisada, and a commander of loyalist (Imperial) forces during the Nanbokuchō Wars. In April 1352, Yoshimune led a force from Echigo Province to contribute to the loyalist efforts to drive the Shōgun, Ashikaga Taka ...

, 1331?-1368 #Tokugawa Chikasue?, ????-???? (speculated) #Tokugawa Arichika, ????-???? #Matsudaira Chikauji, d. 1393? #Matsudaira Yasuchika, ????-14?? #Matsudaira Nobumitsu, c. 1404-1488/89? #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 grandfather of the third "great unifier of Japan", Tokugawa Ieyasu. Biography Kiyoyasu gained control of the whole of northern Mikawa ...

, 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 K ...

, 1526-1549 #

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

, 1st Tokugawa Shōgun (1543-1616) # Tokugawa Yorifusa, 1st Lord of Mito (1603-1661) # Matsudaira Yorishige, 1st Lord of Takamatsu (1622-1695) # Matsudaira Yoriyuki (1661-1687) #

Matsudaira Yoritoyo The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of th ...

, 3rd Lord of Takamatsu (1680-1735) #

Tokugawa Munetaka was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the mid-Edo period, who ruled the Mito Domain. He was the son of Matsudaira Yoritoyo, the lord of the Takamatsu Domain. His childhood name was Matsudaira Kemaro (松平軽麻呂) later changed to Tokugawa Tsuruch ...

, 4th Lord of Mito (1705-1730) #

Tokugawa Munemoto was a Japanese daimyō of the mid-Edo period who ruled the Mito Domain. His childhood name was Tsuruchiyo (鶴千代). Family * Father: Tokugawa Munetaka * Mother: Miyohime (1708-1746) * Wife: Ikuko, daughter of Ichijo Kaneka * Concubines: ** ...

, 5th Lord of Mito (1728-1766) #Tokugawa Harumori, 6th Lord of Mito (1751-1805) #Matsudaira Yoshinari, 9th Lord of Takasu (1776-1832) #Matsudaira Yoshitatsu, 10th Lord of Takasu (1800-1862) # Matsudaira Katamori, 9th Lord of Aizu (1836-1893) # Tsuneo Matsudaira (1877-1949) #

Ichirō Matsudaira , also written Ichiro, Ichirou or Ichiroh is a masculine Japanese given name. The name is occasionally given to the first-born son in a family. Like many Japanese names, Ichirō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: * 一� ...

(1907-1992) #

(born 1940) #Iehiro Tokugawa (born 1965)

References

1965 births Living people Tokugawa clan Columbia University alumni University of Michigan alumni Keio University alumni Japanese businesspeople {{Japan-translator-stub