History Matsudaira Clan

The Matsudaira (松平氏 Matsudaira-shi) were a samurai family (武家 buke) from the Matsudaira area in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). Although its exact origins are unclear, the clan claimed descent from the medieval Seiwa Genji (清和源氏) branch of the Minamoto. Its founder was said to be Matsudaira Chikauji (松平親氏, d. 1393), who lived in the early Muromachi period and established himself in Mikawa Province, at the village of Matsudaira (in modern-day Toyota). Originally a poor Buddhist monk, Chikauji reportedly descended from Nitta Yoshisue in the 8th generation and witnessed the ruin of the Nitta clan in their war against the Ashikaga. He settled at Matsudaira and was adopted by his wife's family.

The Matsudaira were surrounded by powerful neighbours: the Oda clan to the west (in Owari province) and the Imagawa to the east (in Suruga). Their main branch resided at Okazaki Castle and ascended to prominence in the second half of the 16th century thanks to their most famous prodigy, Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, 1543-1616, born Matsudaira Takechiyo 松平竹千代). With imperial approval, Ieyasu later changed his surname to prove his (historically controversial) descent from the prestigious house of Minamoto (源). He founded the Tokugawa clan and became the first shōgun of the dynasty. However, most historians agree that Ieyasu embellished his Minamoto descent by linking his own lineage to that of the Nitta clan.

Before Ieyasu became shōgun, the Matsudaira clan consisted of nineteen collateral families:

• Fujii (藤井)
• Fukama (福釜)
• Fukōzu (深溝)
• Goi (五井)
• Iwatsu (岩津)
• Kaga (加賀)
• Katahara (形原)
• Mitsugi (三木)
• Nagasawa (長沢)
• Nishi-Fukama (西福釜)
• Nōmi (能見)
• Ōgusa (大草)
• Ogyū (大給)
• Sakurai (桜井)
• Takenoya (竹谷)
• Takiwaki (滝脇)
• Tōjō (東条)
• Udono (鵜殿)
• Yata (矢田)

In the Edo period (1603-1868), when daimyō domains replaced the former provinces as administrative units, many branch families managed to obtain their fiefs assuming the positions of daimyō. The Edo Shogunate allowed several daimyō, such as the Maeda (前田氏), Date (伊達氏), Kuroda (黒田氏), Asano (浅野氏), Nashima (鍋島氏), Mōri (毛利氏), Ikeda (池田氏), Hachisuka (蜂須賀氏), Yamanouchi (山内氏) among others, to bear the family name Matsudaira, as can be seen in the designation of Edo residences on district maps.

The Matsudaira family is still extant. They meet, along with the other nobles, in the Kasumikaikan (霞会館) association based on the 34th floor of the Kasumigaseki Building in Tōkyō. A well-known member, Matsudaira Yorihiro (松平頼明, 1909-1990) was bestowed the Bronze Wolf Award from the World Organisation of the Scout Movement in 1981 for his outstanding service.

The Matsudaira daimyō:

Before the Mito Rebellion in 1864, there were forty Matsudaira daimyō.

Pre Edo-era branches

Cited below are the names of their branches, the last daimyō or head of family, and their domain.

Edo-era branches

Branches from other clans

Tokugawa collateral lines

References:

• Edmond Papinot: Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan. Reprint from 1910; Tuttle, 1972