Tokugawa Ienari
Yoshiyasu was born in Edo as Inuchiyo (犬千代), the first son of Maeda Nariyasu. His mother was Yō-hime, the daughter of Shōgun Tokugawa Ienari. In 1842, he was presented to the Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyoshi in formal audience, who a week later presided over his "genpuku" ceremony. At that time, his name was changed from Toshizumi (利住) to Yoshiyasu.