The were the most successful and powerful of the many branch families of the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese Minamoto clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto Yoshiie, also known as "Hachimantaro", or God of War, and Minamoto no Yoritomo

Minamoto no Yoritomo

was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...

, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate

Kamakura shogunate

The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...

, were descended from this line. The family is named after Emperor Seiwa

Emperor Seiwa

was the 56th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Seiwa's reign spanned the years from 858 through 876.-Traditional narrative:...

, grandfather of Minamoto no Tsunemoto

Minamoto no Tsunemoto

was a samurai and Imperial Prince during Japan's Heian period, the progenitor of the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan. He was the son of Sadazumi-shinnō and grandson of Emperor Seiwa....

, patriarch of the Seiwa Genji.

Emperor Seiwa was father of Imperial Prince Sadazumi (貞純親王 Sadazumi Shinnō) (873-916) - father of Minamoto no Tsunemoto (源経基) (894-961), founder of the Seiwa Genji, from whom the Kamakura shogunate was descended. Ashikaga Takauji

Ashikaga Takauji

was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...

 (1305-1358), founder of the Ashikaga shogunate

Ashikaga shogunate

The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...

, and Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

 (1543-1616), founder of the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

, also claimed descent from this lineage. The Clan of Mori

Mori clan (Genji)

The was a family of Japanese people descended from the Seiwa Genji. Their line descended from Minamoto no Yoshiie through his seventh son, Minamoto no Yoshitaka, proprietor of Mori-no-shō in Sagami Province...

 also claim descent from this lineage.

A group of Shinto shrines connected closely with the clan is known as the Three Genji Shrines

Three Genji Shrines

are a group of three Japanese Shinto shrines connected with the Seiwa Genji group of the Minamoto clan.* Rokusonnō Shrine, Minami-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture* Tada Jinja, Kawanishi, Hyōgo Prefecture...

 (源氏三神社 Genji San Jinja).

Family tree

The following family trees are a non-exhaustive listing of the Seiwa Genji and the clans that branched from the family.

Legend: Solid lines represent blood relationship; dashed lines represent adoptions. An asterisk indicates a monk (who would not have been allowed to retain the Minamoto name).

Mitsuyoshi's descendants