The Yanagisawa Clan (柳沢氏)
The Yanagisawa was a Japanese feudal clan (samurai warriors). They were part of the Takeda clan (Kai genji), which belonged to the Yoshimitsu MINAMOTO's branch, a Seiwa Genji (Minamoto clan). They were fudai daimyo (retainers who supported the Tokugawa shogunate) during the Edo period. The family crest is Yanagisawa Hanabishi.
Summary
The Yanagisawa clan descended from the Kai Ichijo clan belonging to the Kai-Genji (Minamoto clan) and became part of the Mukawa-shu group, one of the warrior groups in the remote Kai area based in Mukawa, in the northwestern part of Kai Province. During the Sengoku (Warring States) period of Japan, they became retainers of the Takeda clan, who held the post of military governor in the Kai area. After the fall of the Takeda clan, the members of the clan served under Ieyasu TOKUGAWA as the surviving retainers of the Takeda clan. Yasutada YANAGISAWA became a retainer of the Dainagon (chief councilor of state) Tadanaga TOKUGAWA (a son of Hidetada TOKUGAWA) of Suruga Province, but when Tadanaga was placed under house arrest by his elder brother Iemitsu TOKUGAWA, Yasutada became a warrior without a lord. Yasutada later became a retainer of Tsunayoshi TOKUGAWA, who was the lord of Tatebayashi, Kozuke no kuni Province (the present-day Tatebayashi City, Gunma Prefecture) and became kanjo gashira (chief treasurer). Yoshiyasu YANAGISAWA, the son of Yasutada, became a confidant of Tsunayoshi, and when Tsunayoshi became the fifth shogun, Yoshiyasu was given 10,000 koku, became a goyonin (one of the most senior retainers of the shogun) and was allowed to use the name MATSUDAIRA. In 1704, he became the lord of Kofu-jo Castle with 151,200 koku and also became the lord of Kai. During the time of Yoshisato YANAGISAWA, the son of Yoshiyasu, the governing land of the clan was switched to the Koriyama Domain, Yamato Province (currently Yamato Koriyama City, Nara Prefecture), and his family continued to be a daimyo with 150,000 koku until the end of the bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun). The head of the clan was traditionally designated as the lord of either Mino Province or Kai Province. They attained peerage during the Meiji period, and in 1884 Yasunobu YANAGISAWA became a count. The YANAGISAWA clan had a close relationship with the Koke Takeda clan, the main stream of the Takeda clan; Nobuyasu TAKEDA, the second son of Yasunobu, became the head of Koke Takeda clan, and the bloodline continues today.
Tsunetaka YANAGISAWA, the fourth son of Yoshiyasu, was bestowed the Kai Nitta Domain with 10,000 koku in Yashiro gun, Kai Province (the present-day cities of Yamanashi and Kofu) in 1709, then in 1724 became the daimyo of the Kurokawa Domain with 10,000 koku in Kurokawa, Kanbara-gun, Echigo Province (which became Kurokawa Town, Kanbara gun, Niigata Prefecture (Kita Kanbara-gun, Niigata Prefecture) and is currently Kurokawa Tainai-shi City, Niigata Prefecture) and the descendents continued to hold that post until the end of the bakufu. In 1884, Mitsukuni YANAGISAWA became a viscount.
Tokichika YANAGISAWA, the fifth son of Yoshiyasu, was given 10,000 koku in Kanbara-gun (currently in the northern part of Shibata City and the western part of Kajikawa village, Kita Kanbara gun, Niigata Prefecture) in 1724, and became the lord of Mikkaichi City. Later, the family moved to Kamitate (Shibata City) and remained until the end of the bakufu. In 1884, Noritada YANAGISAWA became a viscount.