Tokugawa Ietsuna
Not much is known of Ienobu's early life except that he was expected to become the next "daimyō" of Kofu after the death of his father. However, after Tokugawa Ietsuna had died in 1680, and his other uncle, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi succeeded the "bakufu", Tsunayoshi's failure to produce a male heir greatly increased the chances of Ienobu becoming shogun. Nonetheless, for the time being, Ienobu was not being groomed to succeed to the shogunate but rather to succeed his father Tsunashige as "daimyō" of Kōfu.