To understand why Tokugawa Ieyasu chose Tokugawa Hidetada to succeed him, it is first necessary to know how the heir was chosen at that time. In the Warring States period, the family inheritance in Japan was basically the same as that of the family hereditary system in ancient Chinese feudal society, one was the eldest son, and the other was to choose the best in the same vein. After Tokugawa Ieyasu established the shogunate, the position of shogun was also inherited by merit. One of the reasons Tokugawa Ieyasu chose Tokugawa Hidetada to succeed him was that he was excellent.
Tokugawa Hidetada stills
Tokugawa Ieyasu's political and military prowess was outstanding, his family had many wives and concubines, and many sons, so why did he choose his third son, Tokugawa Hidetada, as the heir to the shogunate? There are several reasons for this. First, the eldest son, Matsudaira Nobuyasu, was threatened by the alliance between the Tokugawa family and the Oda family on suspicion of conspiring with Takeda Shingen to seize the shogunate's position, and was ordered by Oda Nobunaga to be cut off and died early. Second, the second son, Yuki Hideyasu, was the illegitimate son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had a bad fate at a young age, and was given to Hideyoshi Toshiba as a proton by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1854 and became his adopted son, and at the age of eleven he changed his name to Hashiba Hideyasu, losing the inheritance rights of the Tokugawa family. The third and fourth son, Matsudaira Tadayoshi, is said to be very talented, and was the half-brother of Tokugawa Hidetada, who became the adopted son of Matsudaira Ietadata at the age of one and inherited the Matsudaira family after his adoptive father's death.
In addition to the above, Tokugawa Ieyasu had many sons, either dying early or giving them to others as adopted sons, not growing up around himself, and changing his surname, so naturally he could not become the heir of the Tokugawa family. Tokugawa Hidetada, as the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, was not highly qualified, but grew up next to Tokugawa Ieyasu, had a stable personality, and took Tokugawa Ieyasu as an example and aspired to be a qualified heir. In addition, Tokugawa Hidetada often fought with Tokugawa Ieyasu and also had a certain position in the family, which is why Tokugawa Ieyasu chose Tokugawa Hidetada to succeed him.
The question of whether Tokugawa Hidetada's descendants were passed on to his family was completely cut off, and it is necessary to start with the situation of Tokugawa Hidetada's children. Tokugawa Hidetada, the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, succeeded to the shogunate on April 16, 1605, becoming the second-generation ruler of the Edo shogunate. He had five daughters and three sons, including the eldest son, Tokugawa Iemitsu, the second son, Tokugawa Tadanaga, and the third son, Hoko Masayuki.
Hidetada Tokugawa Image
On July 27, 1623, the eldest son, Tokugawa Iemitsu, succeeded him as the third-generation ruler of the shogunate, while the second son, Tokugawa Tadao, became at odds with Tokugawa Iemitsu, especially after the failure to compete for the shogun's position. Later, Tokugawa Hidetada's Shomune-in Temple died, and Tokugawa Tadao's behavior became more and more violent, and he was exiled by Tokugawa Iemitsu and died in Ueno Takasaki at the age of twenty-eight. It is rumored that Tokugawa Tadao had a son, but this historical record is unknown and it is impossible to judge. As a result, Tokugawa Hidetada's descendants continued mainly from the Tokugawa Iemitsu lineage until the seventh generation of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who died of illness at the age of eight.
So did the descendants of Tokugawa Hidetada pass to the Tokugawa family and then completely cut off? This question will be explained from two aspects. First, it is judged from the inheritance and development of the family. After the Tokugawa family's death, the family that had survived from Tokugawa Hidetada disappeared. Second, judging by blood ties that tokugawa Hidetada's descendants passed down to the family is not completely severed. Hoshiko Masayuki was the illegitimate son of Tokugawa Hidetada, born to the Kyōmitsuin Temple, and Tokugawa Hidetada, who was his wife, was never brought back to the Tokugawa clan by Hokuko Masayuki, who was adopted by Hoko Masamitsu at the age of seven and renamed Hoko Masayuki. Hokko Masayuki returned to the Tokugawa family after his death in 1629, and hokage Masamitsu died, and Hoko Masayuki succeeded him to the throne. Later, Hoko Masayuki was favored by his elder brother Tokugawa Iemitsu, and in 1636 and 1643 he was granted the title of domain, and his bloodline continued until the end of the shogunate.
In summary, the answer to the question of whether Tokugawa Hidetada's descendants were completely cut off when they reached the family, and the existence and continuation of the hoshi Masayuki lineage.