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 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 princi ...

and his paternal 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 ...

. As a great-grandson of Shimazu Tadayoshi, the last lord of

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, l ...

, he is also a second cousin of the former Emperor,

Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. B ...

. Tsunenari was active for many years in the shipping company Nippon Yūsen, retiring in June, 2002, and is the head of the nonprofit Tokugawa Foundation. The nonprofit aims to preserve the remaining cultural treasures of the Tokugawa family, many of which were lost in the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

U.S. bombings. In 2007, Tsunenari published a book entitled ''Edo no idenshi'' (江戸の遺伝子), released in English in 2009 as ''The Edo Inheritance'', which seeks to counter the common belief among Japanese that the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

(throughout which members of his

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 cl ...

ruled

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

as ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators 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, though during part of the Kamaku ...

s'') was like a Dark Age, when Japan, cut off from the world, fell behind. On the contrary, he argues, the roughly 250 years of peace and relative prosperity saw great economic reforms, the growth of a sophisticated urban culture, and the development of the most urbanized society on the planet. His son, Iehiro Tokugawa, is an author and translator.

Family

* Paternal Grandfather: Tsuneo Matsudaira * Maternal Grandfather:

Iemasa Tokugawa Prince also known as Iyemasa, was a Japanese political figure of the Taishō and early Shōwa periods. He was the 17th hereditary head of the former shogunal branch of the Tokugawa clan and the final President of the House of Peers in the ...

* Father: Ichirō Matsudaira * Mother: Toyoko Tokugawa * Aunt:

Setsuko, Princess Chichibu was a member of the Japanese Imperial Family and the wife of Prince Chichibu, the second son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei. Setsuko was a sister-in-law of Emperor Shōwa and an aunt-in-law of the Emperor Akihito. Early life Setsuko ...

* Wife: Sachiko Terashima * Son: Iehiro Tokugawa * Grandcousin: Nagahisa Kuroda, Munefusa Tokugawa,

, Masahito, Prince Hitachi,

Yoshitomo Tokugawa was the 4th-generation head of the ''Tokugawa Yoshinobu-ke'', the branch of the Tokugawa line started by the last Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Biography Born in Sena, in Shizuoka Prefecture, he went to school in Tokyo, later engaging in a caree ...

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 – 120 ...

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 (died 10 March 531) was the 26th legendary 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 ...

, 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 List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession. The years of reign of Bidatsu start in 572 and end in 58 ...

, 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 ...

, 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 s ...

, 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 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 ...

, 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, pas ...

, 968–1048 # Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, 988–1075 #

Minamoto no Yoshiie Minamoto No Yoshiie (源義家; 1039 – 4 August 1106), also known as Hachimantarō, 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 ...

, 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 Min ...

, 1135–1202 #

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 D ...

, 1139–1206 # Nitta Yoshifusa, 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 D ...

, 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 D ...

, 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 ...

, 1253–1324 # Nitta Tomouji, 1274–1318 #

Nitta 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 famously marched on Kamakura, besieging ...

, 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 Takau ...

, 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, 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 Matsuda ...

, 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 fello ...

, 1st Tokugawa ''shōgun'' (1543–1616) # Tokugawa Yorifusa, 1st ''daimyō'' of Mito (1603–1661) # Matsudaira Yorishige, 1st ''daimyō'' of Takamatsu (1622–1695) # Matsudaira Yoriyuki (1661–1687) # Matsudaira Yoritoyo, 3rd ''daimyō'' 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 Tsur ...

, 4th ''daimyō'' of Mito (1705–1730) # Tokugawa Munemoto, 5th ''daimyō'' of Mito (1728–1766) #Tokugawa Harumori, 6th ''daimyō'' of Mito (1751–1805) #Matsudaira Yoshinari, 9th ''daimyō'' of Takasu (1776–1832) #Matsudaira Yoshitatsu, 10th ''daimyō'' of Takasu (1800–1862) # Matsudaira Katamori, 9th ''daimyō'' of Aizu (1836–1893) # Tsuneo Matsudaira (1877–1949) # Ichirō Matsudaira (1907–1992) #Tsunenari Tokugawa (born 1940)

References

External links

Homepage of the Tokugawa Memorial Foundation
''heir:'' Iehiro Tokugawa {{DEFAULTSORT:Tokugawa, Tsunenari 1940 births Living people Aizu-Matsudaira clan Gakushuin University alumni Japanese businesspeople People from Tokyo Tokugawa clan