Pre-Edo branches Several of the pre-Edo branch families survived into the Edo period; some of them became
daimyōs. The Takiwaki-Matsudaira family became
daimyōs of the Ojima Domain, and from 1868 to 1871, ruled the
Sakurai Domain. The Nagasawa-Matsudaira, also known as the Ōkōchi-Matsudaira, had several branches, one of them ruled the Yoshida Domain of
Mikawa Province. A prominent Nagasawa-Matsudaira is the early
Edo-period politician
Matsudaira Nobutsuna. The Fukōzu-Matsudaira ruled the
Shimabara Domain. The Sakurai-Matsudaira ruled the Amagasaki Domain. The Ogyū-Matsudaira had many branches, one of which ruled the
Okutono Domain.
Nagai Naoyuki was a prominent
Bakumatsu-era descendant of the Ogyū-Matsudaira of Okutono. Other pre-Edo branches of the family became
hatamoto.
Tokugawa branches and the Matsudaira surname The Tokugawa surname was not granted to all of the sons of the shōgun or the heads of the six main Tokugawa branches. Only the inheritor received the Tokugawa name, while all of his siblings would receive the Matsudaira surname. For example, the last shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu was not the firstborn heir of his father (
Tokugawa Nariaki of
Mito). Consequently, Yoshinobu was known as Matsudaira Shichirōma during his minority. Some of these sons, particularly of the 3 main Tokugawa branches (the
Gosanke), formed their own families, and received their own fiefs. These included
Takamatsu,
Shishido,
Fuchū, and
Moriyama (branches of the Mito Tokugawa); Saijō (a branch of the Kii Tokugawa); and Takasu (a branch of the Owari Tokugawa). Notable Matsudaira of these branches include
Matsudaira Yoritoshi of Takamatsu, and
Matsudaira Yoritaka of Fuchū.
Yoritsune Matsudaira and his son
Yoriaki Matsudaira, who were 20th-century composers, were descendants of the Matsudaira of Fuchū.
Yūki-Matsudaira clan (Echizen) The Yūki-Matsudaira clan was founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu's son
Yūki Hideyasu. Several branches of the Yūki-Matsudaira came into existence during the Edo period. Though the Yūki-Matsudaira retained control of Kitanoshō (later renamed Fukui), the main Yūki line was not there, but in
Tsuyama instead. Branches of the family ruled the
Fukui, Hirose, Mori,
Matsue, Tsuyama,
Akashi, Itoigawa, and
Maebashi domains. Famous Yūki-Matsudaira include
Matsudaira Naritami and
Matsudaira Yoshinaga, two
daimyōs of the late Edo period. Matsudaira Yoshinaga in particular was very important to Japanese politics of the early Meiji period, and his leadership put the Fukui Domain on the side of the victors in the
Boshin War (1868–69).
Hisamatsu-Matsudaira clan The Hisamatsu-Matsudaira clan was founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu's half-brother
Hisamatsu Sadakatsu. Due to his close relation to Ieyasu, Sadakatsu was allowed the use of the Matsudaira surname. Eventually, some of the branches of the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira were also allowed the use of the Tokugawa family crest, as well as being formally recognized as Tokugawa relatives (
shinpan), rather than simply being a
fudai family. Branches of the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira ruled the
Kuwana,
Imabari, and
Iyo-Matsuyama domains. Famous Hisamatsu-Matsudaira include the political reformer
Matsudaira Sadanobu, the final
Kyoto Shoshidai Matsudaira Sadaaki, and shogunate politician
Itakura Katsukiyo. In the Meiji era, the heads of all the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira branches received titles in the
new nobility.
Ochi-Matsudaira clan The Ochi-Matsudaira clan was founded by Matsudaira Kiyotake, the younger brother of the 6th shōgun Tokugawa Ienobu. The Ochi-Matsudaira ruled the
Hamada Domain. The family lost most of its territory in 1866, when the castle town was occupied by
Chōshū Domain forces under
Ōmura Masujirō during the Chōshū War. Matsudaira Takeakira, the last
daimyō, escaped Hamada and went to Tsuruta, one of the domain's non-contiguous territories; there he set up the Tsuruta Domain, which existed until the abolition of the domains in 1871. In the
Meiji era, Takeakira's son Matsudaira (Ochi) Takenaga received the title of
viscount. the
Shimazu clan of
Satsuma, the
Mōri clan of Choshu, the
Maeda clan of
Kaga (and its branches at Daishōji and Toyama), the Yamanouchi clan of
Tosa, the Kuroda clan of Fukuoka, the Asano clan of Hiroshima (and its branch at Hiroshima-shinden), the Nabeshima of Saga, the Ikeda of Tottori (as well as its branches of Okayama, Shikano, Wakasa, Hirafuku, as well as hatamoto-level Ikeda), and the Hachisuka of Tokushima were all
tozama families that had the use of the Matsudaira surname. The Yanagisawa clan of Yamato and Honjō clan of
Miyazu were two
fudai families among those who had the right to use the Matsudaira surname. In addition, if a Tokugawa princess married into another family, her husband had the right to use the Matsudaira surname and the Tokugawa crest for one generation.
Present day Prominent Matsudaira in the present day include
Ryūmon Matsudaira (actor), and
Iyo-Matsuyama Domain Matsudaira Hisamatsu family of branch family bannermen hits the descendants Sadatomo Matsudaira
(ja; former anchor for
NHK), among others. ==Key genealogies==