Honda clan

The Honda clan (本多氏, Honda-shi) is a Japanese family that claims descent from the medieval court noble Fujiwara no Kanemichi. The family settled in Mikawa and served the Matsudaira clan as retainers. Later, when the main Matsudaira family became the Tokugawa clan, the Honda rose in prestige. The clan includes thirteen branches who had daimyo status, and forty-five who had hatamoto status. Arguably the most famous member of the Honda clan was the 16th century samurai general Honda Tadakatsu. Two of the major branches of the clan claim descent from Tadakatsu, or his close relative Honda Masanobu.