The is a Japanese family that claims descent from the medieval court noble Fujiwara no Kanemichi

Fujiwara no Kanemichi

was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period.-Career:Kanemichi served as a minister during the reign of Emperor En'yū...

. The family settled in Mikawa

Mikawa Province

is an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces....

 and served the Matsudaira clan

Matsudaira clan

The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. It first originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province . Over the course of its history, the clan produced many branches, most of which also centered around Mikawa Province...

 as retainers. Later, when the main Matsudaira family became the Tokugawa clan

Tokugawa clan

The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...

, the Honda rose in prestige. The clan includes thirteen branches who had daimyo

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 status, and forty-five who had hatamoto

Hatamoto

A was a samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin. However, in the Edo period, hatamoto were the upper vassals of the Tokugawa...

 status. Arguably the most famous member of the Honda clan was the 16th century samurai general Honda Tadakatsu

Honda Tadakatsu

, also called Honda Heihachirō , was a Japanese general of the late Sengoku through early Edo period, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Honda Tadakatsu was one of the Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings along with Ii Naomasa, Sakakibara Yasumasa and Sakai Tadatsugu. - Biography :A native of Mikawa Province in...

. Two of the major branches of the clan claim descent from Tadakatsu, or his close relative Honda Masanobu

Honda Masanobu

was a commander and daimyo in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu in Japan during the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods.In 1563, when an uprising against Ieyasu occurred in Mikawa Province, Masanobu took the side of the peasants against Ieyasu...

.