The Tokudaiji Family (徳大寺家)
The Tokudaiji Family is a kuge (court noble) having the house status of Seigake (one of the statuses of court nobility which is inferiror to the sekke but superior to minister). During the Edo period the house was on the premises of what is now Doshisha University. The Tokudaiji Family is of the Kanin line, of the House of Fujiwara North of the Fujiwara clan, and has sibling relationships with the Saionji Family and the Sanjo Family. The crest is Mokko Hanabishi Fusenryo. The family business was the flute.
The original forefather was FUJIWARA no Saneyoshi, the fourth child of FUJIWARA no Kinzane. During the late Heian period, Saneyoshi, who were then minister of the left, owned a villa at the southwest foot of Mount Kinugasayama, and built therein a jibutsudo (the hall for the family's protective deity) called Tokudai-ji Temple. This later became the family name. Subsequently, this villa was given to Katsumoto HOSOKAWA, which became the basis of Ryoan-ji Temple.
Kimihide TOKUDAIJI is famous as an art critic. Incidentally, 'Aritsune TOKUDAIJI,' the pen name of an automotive critic, has nothing to do with the House of Tokudaiji described on this page.