This paper explores the status of the Tokugawa/Matsudaira family members, particularly those from the Tokugawa gosanke 御三家 (the Three Branches of the Tokugawa), in the political order of the Tokugawa regime duringthe early Edo period. These family members were regarded as a kind of daimyō called "shinpan" 親藩, distinguished from other daimyō including fudai 譜第 and tozama 外様. However, scholars have recently pointed out that such a classification is not an accurate representation of Tokugawa political institutions. Therefore, it is necessary to consider how these family members were positioned in the system duringthe foundingperiod of the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu was appointed as seii taishōgun and established the bakufu in Edo after he had taken control of the state through his victory in the Battle of Sekigahara. His sons who served meritoriously in that battle were sent to the strategically important areas and appointed as independent feudal lords in the same way that the non-hereditary retainers of the Tokugawa family (tozama) had. In the meantime, the Matsudaira branch families, which split from the head family at the time of Ieyasu's grandfather, served as hereditary vassals ( fudai). When Ieyasu handed over the shogun position to his third son Hidetada and moved his residence to Sunpu, he began to use his sons to solve special political problems, such as the communication with the Toyotomi government in Osaka. In this period, the three sons born after the Battle of Sekigahara (Yoshinao, Yorinobu, Yorifusa), were also granted territories, although Ieyasu only engaged two of them (Yoshinao, Yorinobu) in political affairs. Despite the fact that Ieyasu did utilize his kin in politics, he did not seem to have the intention to incorporate relatives into the daimyō class. After Ieyasu's death, the second shogun Hidetada took over the reins of government. During his reign, Hidetada reproached his younger brother Tadateru and nephew Tadanao and punished them by withdrawingtheir fiefs and exilingthem. On the other hand, he raised Yoshinao and Yorinobu's position to the highest among the daimyō, and then appointed Yorifusa and his second son, Tadanaga, to a similar position. Hidetada made four of these relatives a privileged class called "gorenshi" 御連枝 (the closest branch family members). Yorifusa held a lower court rank and a smaller fief than the other three branches, while they all played the same political role that was assigned only to them. When Hidetada or his first son, the third shogun Iemitsu, went to Kyoto to have an audience with the emperor at the gosho (imperial palace), or attended a diplomatic banquet to welcome Joseon missions, only the members of gorenshi were designated to serve as the special cortege. However, in 1631, Tadanaga was reproached for misconduct by Hidetada, who died the next year. After beginning his direct rule as the shogun, Iemitsu punished his younger brother by withdrawing his fief and exiling him. Tadanaga was then forced to commit suicide in 1633. By contrast, Iemitsu retained the political position and the roles of his three uncles, and even allowed their heirs to inherit their political privileges. Moreover, no new privileged branch family members were made due to the absence of Iemitsu's heir by 1641. As a result, it can be said that only the families of Iemitsu's three uncles occupied the highest rank among Tokugawa branch families, which marks the formation of the so-called "Gosanke" during Iemitsu's reign.