Tokugawa Clan

The Tokugawa clan (徳川氏、德川氏, Tokugawa-shi or Tokugawa-uji) is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful daimyō family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) by the Nitta clan. The early history of this clan remains a mystery. Members of the clan ruled Japan as shōguns from 1603 to 1867.