View source for Gosanke

{{Short description|Direct descendants of Tokugawa Ieyasu's three sons}}
{{redirect|Sanke|the German post card|Sanke card}}
{{Italic title}}
[[Image:Mon-Tokugawa.png|thumb|right|''Maru-ni-mitsuba'aoi'' ("Circle Around Three [[Hollyhock]] Leaves"), the Tokugawa clan's crest (''[[Mon (crest)|mon]]'').]]
The {{nihongo|'''Tokugawa''' '''''Go-san-ke'''''|徳川御三家|"the Three Houses of the Tokugawa"}}, also called simply {{nihongo|'''''Go-san-ke'''''|御三家|"the Noble Three Houses"}}, or even {{nihongo|'''''San-ke'''''|三家|"the three houses"}}, were the most noble three branches of the [[Tokugawa clan]] of [[Japan]]: Owari, Kii, and Mito, all of which were descended from clan founder [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]]'s three youngest sons, [[Tokugawa Yoshinao|Yoshinao]], [[Tokugawa Yorinobu|Yorinobu]], and [[Tokugawa Yorifusa|Yorifusa]], and were allowed to provide a shōgun in case of need.<ref name="inj">Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten, ''Tokugawa Gosanke'', ''Tokugawa Owari-ke'', ''Tokugawa Kii-ke'', and ''Tokugawa Mito-ke''</ref> In the [[Edo period]] the term ''gosanke'' could also refer to various other combinations of Tokugawa houses, including (1) the shogunal, Owari and Kii houses and (2) the Owari, Kii, and [[Suruga Province|Suruga]] houses (all with the court position of ''[[dainagon]]'').
Later, ''Gosanke'' were deprived of their role to provide a ''shōgun'' by three other branches that are closer to the shogunal house: the ''[[Gosankyō]]''.
Even after the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the abolition of the Edo-period system of administrative [[Han (administrative division)|domains (''han'')]] the three houses continued to exist in some form, as they do into the 21st century.
== History ==
After he established his shogunate, Ieyasu proceeded to put members of his family in key positions. Ninth son Yoshinao was nominated ''[[daimyō]]'' of Nagoya ([[Owari Province]]), tenth son Yorinobu ''daimyō'' of Wakayama ([[Kii Province]]) and eleventh son Yorifusa ''daimyō'' of Mito ([[Hitachi Province]]).<ref name="inj"/> From this allocation of fiefs came the names of the houses they founded, officially called {{nihongo|Owari House of Tokugawa|尾張徳川家|Owari Tokugawa-ke}}, {{nihongo|Kii House of Tokugawa|紀伊徳川家|Kii Tokugawa-ke}}, and {{nihongo|Mito House of Tokugawa|水戸徳川家|Mito Tokugawa-ke}}). Ieyasu gave them the right to supply a shōgun in order to ensure the presence of successors to the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] in case the main line should become extinct.<ref name="as"/>  This occurred twice during the Edo period: when the seventh shōgun died heirless in 1716, and when the thirteenth shōgun died heirless in 1858.
The three houses had the highest rank among the ''[[Shinpan (daimyo)|shinpan]]'', the ''daimyōs'' who were relatives of the shōgun. After the [[Meiji Restoration]], under the ''[[kazoku]]'' system, the heads of the three houses became [[marquess]]es. In 1929 the head of the Mito House was elevated from marquess to [[duke]].
===Owari branch===
The senior one was the [[Owari branch]]. The first of this line was [[Tokugawa Yoshinao]], ninth son of Ieyasu. He and his heirs were ''daimyōs'' of the [[Owari Domain]] (''Owari Han''), with its headquarters at [[Nagoya Castle]]. The fief had a rating of 619,500 ''[[koku]]'', a ''koku'' being the quantity of [[rice]] necessary to feed one person for a year (about 180 liters),<ref name="IK">Iwanami Kōjien Japanese Dictionary</ref> and was the largest of the three. Before the abolition of the shogunate and of the ''han'' system, the house was headed successively by 17 men. Its seniority notwithstanding, the Owari were the only one not to provide a shōgun.<ref name="as"/>
===Kii branch===
Second in seniority was [[Kii Province|Kii]] or Kishū House. The founder was [[Tokugawa Yorinobu]], the tenth son of Ieyasu. Yorinobu was ''daimyō'' of the [[Wakayama domain|Kishū Han]] with its castle at [[Wakayama Castle|Wakayama]] and a rating of 555,000 ''koku''.<ref name="IK"/> He entered [[Wakayama, Wakayama|Wakayama]] in 1619 when the previous ''daimyō'' was transferred. Fourteen members of the Tokugawa clan headed the fief during the Edo Period. It was the only family to directly produce successors to the shōgun, once in 1716 with [[Tokugawa Yoshimune]] and again in 1858 with [[Tokugawa Iemochi]].
The fifth Tokugawa ''daimyō'' of Kii was [[Tokugawa Yoshimune|Yoshimune]], who later became shōgun and appointed a relative to head the Kii ''Han''. Yoshimune established three new houses, the ''[[gosankyō]]'', installing two sons and a grandson as their heads. The ''gosanke'' provided the model for the ''gosankyō.'' However, while Yoshimune granted lands to the ''gosankyō'', the lands were not consolidated into coherent ''[[Han (Japan)|han]]'', but instead were scattered in various places; the total holdings were also smaller than those of the ''gosanke.'' Eventually, one of the ''gosankyō'' houses, the [[Gosankyō|Hitotsubashi]] house, produced two shoguns, once in 1787 ([[Tokugawa Ienari]]) and again in 1866 ([[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]]).
===Mito branch===
Third in seniority among the ''Gosanke'' was the [[Mito branch]]. Its founder was [[Tokugawa Yorifusa]], the eleventh son of Ieyasu. Their fief was the [[Mito Domain|Mito Han]] in [[Hitachi Province]], with its castle in [[Mito, Ibaraki|Mito]] and lands rated initially at 250,000 ''koku'', and later (1710) at 350,000.<ref name="IK"/> Eleven men headed the house, including [[Tokugawa Mitsukuni|Tokugawa (Mito) Mitsukuni]]. The Mito House was not allowed to provide a shōgun, but only his vice.<ref name="IK"/> It did manage however to produce one when one of its sons, [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]], was adopted by the Hitotsubashi (one of the Kii House's three ''Gosankyō'') in 1848 and became the last shōgun as a member of that house.
==Genealogy of the ''Gosanke'' heads==
===Owari branch===
# [[Tokugawa Yoshinao|Yoshinao]]
# [[Tokugawa Mitsutomo|Mitsutomo]]
# [[Tokugawa Tsunanari|Tsunanari]]
# [[Tokugawa Yoshimichi|Yoshimichi]]
# [[Tokugawa Gorōta|Gorōta]]
# [[Tokugawa Tsugutomo|Tsugutomo]]
# [[Tokugawa Muneharu|Muneharu]]
# [[Tokugawa Munekatsu|Munekatsu]]
# [[Tokugawa Munechika|Munechika]]
# [[Tokugawa Naritomo|Naritomo]]
# [[Tokugawa Nariharu|Nariharu]]
# [[Tokugawa Naritaka|Naritaka]]
# [[Tokugawa Yoshitsugu|Yoshitsugu]]
# [[Tokugawa Yoshikumi|Yoshikumi]]
# [[Tokugawa Mochinaga|Mochinaga]]
# [[Tokugawa Yoshinori|Yoshinori]]
# [[Tokugawa Yoshikatsu|Yoshikatsu]]
# Yoshiakira
# [[Yoshichika Tokugawa|Yoshichika]]
# Yoshitomo
# Yoshinobu
# Yoshitaka
The 22nd head of the Owari House is Mr. {{nihongo|Yoshitaka Tokugawa|徳川 義崇|Tokugawa Yoshitaka}} (born 1961), who in 2005 succeeded his late father, becoming director of the [[Tokugawa Art Museum]] in Nagoya.<ref name="as">Asahi Simbun</ref> A [[Tokyo]] resident, he commutes to [[Nagoya]] during weekends.<ref name="as"/> His main activities are the museum and realty management.<ref name="as"/>
===Kii branch===
#[[Tokugawa Yorinobu]] (1601–1671, r. 1619–1667)
#[[Tokugawa Mitsusada|Mitsusada]] (1626–1705, r. 1667–1698)
#Tsunanori (1665–1705, r. 1698–1705)
#Yorimoto (1680–1705, r. 1705)
#[[Tokugawa Yoshimune|Yoshimune]] (1684–1751, r. 1705–1716) (later became shōgun with the same name)
#Munenao (1682–1757, r. 1716–1757)
#[[Tokugawa Munemasa|Munemasa]] (1720–1765, r. 1757–1765)
#Shigenori (1746–1829, r. 1765–1775)
#Harusada (1728–1789, r. 1775–1789)
#Harutomi (1771–1852, r. 1789–1832)
#Nariyuki (1801–1846, r. 1832–1846)
#Narikatsu (1820–1849, r. 1846–1849)
#[[Tokugawa Yoshitomi|Yoshitomi]] (1846–1866, r. 1849–1858) (later became shōgun with the name [[Tokugawa Iemochi|Iemochi]])
#Mochitsugu (1844–1906, r. 1858–1869)
#Yorimichi (1872-1925, r. 1869-1925)
#Yorisada (1892-1954, r. 1925-1954)
#Yoriaki (1917-1958, r. 1954-1958)
#Gō (1924-unknown, r. 1958-1965)
#Kotoko (b.1956, r. 1965-still)
The 19th head of the Kii House is Ms. {{nihongo|Kotoko Tokugawa|徳川 宜子|Tokugawa Kotoko}} (born in 1956).<ref name="as"/> Although she is not married and has no children, she was chosen as head of the clan because there were no other direct descendants.<ref name="as"/> An architect,<ref>See [http://www.asj-net.com/architects/data.php?archiID=13186&archiIDsub=2 her page] at the site of the Architect Studio Japan,</ref> she owns and operates her own construction company in [[Ginza]], Tokyo.<ref name="as"/> Unlike the other two, the Kii House does not have a museum of its own, and has given its properties of historical value to museums, such as the [[Wakayama Prefectural Museum]].<ref name="as"/> Effectively extinct
===Mito branch===
# [[Tokugawa Yorifusa|Yorifusa]]
# [[Tokugawa Mitsukuni|Mitsukuni]]
# [[Tokugawa Tsunaeda|Tsunaeda]]
# [[Tokugawa Munetaka|Munetaka]]
# [[Tokugawa Munemoto|Munemoto]]
# [[Tokugawa Harumori|Harumori]]
# [[Tokugawa Harutoshi|Harutoshi]]
# [[Tokugawa Narinobu|Narinobu]]
# [[Tokugawa Nariaki|Nariaki]]
# [[Tokugawa Yoshiatsu|Yoshiatsu]]
# [[Tokugawa Akitake|Akitake]]
# Atsuyoshi
# [[Kuniyuki Tokugawa|Kuniyuki]]
# Kuninari
# Narimasa
The 15th head of the Mito House is Mr. {{nihongo|Narimasa Tokugawa|徳川斉正|Tokugawa Narimasa}} (born in 1958).<ref name="as"/> From July 2009 he is also the director of [[Mito, Ibaraki|Mito]]'s {{nihongo|Shōkōkan Tokugawa Museum|彰考館徳川博物館}}.<ref name="as"/> He presently works for [[Tokio Marine Nichido|Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd]].<ref name="as"/> A [[Tokyo]] resident, he commutes to Mito on weekends.<ref name="as"/>
==Other uses of the term==
In modern Japanese, the word ''gosanke'' is used to refer to "the strongest three" or "the most famous three" in various contexts.
For example, the [[Imperial Hotel, Tokyo|Imperial Hotel]], [[Hotel Okura]], and [[Hotel New Otani Tokyo]] are often referred to as one of the {{nihongo|three great hotels|御三家|gosanke}} of Tokyo. The Otani Hotel was built in the [[Kioi]] district of Tokyo, where the Tokyo residence of the Kii House was located. The "[[jp:8ビット御三家|8-bit ''gosanke'']]", similarly to the "1977 trinity" in America, refers to the leading Japanese machines in the [[History of personal computers|early home computing era]].
==Notes==
<references/>
==References==
{{refbegin}}
* ''[[Asahi Shimbun]]'', October 1, 2009, evening issue, page 1. ''Kafū sorezore Tokugawa Gosanke''
* Iwanami {{nihongo|[[Kōjien]]|広辞苑}} Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version
* Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten (岩波日本史辞典), CD-Rom Version. Iwanami Shoten, 1999–2001.
* Papinot, E. (1910). "Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan". 1972 Printing. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo, {{ISBN|0-8048-0996-8}}.
{{refend}}
[[Category:Tokugawa clan| ]]