Noto province), and Taishin Hatamoto with a revenue of 6,000 koku. Watanabe Zonosuke, a Taishin Hatamoto. Watanabe Shinzaemon, younger brother of Moritsuna, and ancestor of the Shinzaemon Watanabe branch, senior retainers of the Owari Tokugawa. His descendant, Watanabe Aritsuna (1820-1868), was the Commander of the Owari Tokugawa army; he fought at the first Choshu war (1864), the second Choshu war (1865), and was killed in 1868. Watanabe Tozutsuna, Karō (Chief retainer) of the Tayasu Tokugawa, and of the Hitotsubashi Tokugawa. Watanabe Naotsuna, Wakasa no Kami (Governor of Wakasa province), had a revenue of 8,000 koku, and was the founder of the Wakasa Watanabe branch, Karō (Chief retainers) of the Kishū Tokugawa. Gallery Miscellaneous , means ‘to cross over a river’. Even by the standards of Japanese names, there is an unusual degree of variation in the second kanji used to write Watanabe, with at least 51 recorded variants including the common , and . According to the 'Japanese Family Names and Family Crests', the surname Watanabe is a toponymic surname (and never an occupational surname). In Japan, there are very few occupational surnames, and unlike in several european countries, in Japan, occupational surnames are the exceptions. The surname Watanabe is not considered one of these very few exceptions. A basic translation of the name of the original village 渡辺 is ‘to cross over a river’, and sometimes simple people write that Watanabe are 'river crossers' which is false. The location called 'Watanabe no tsu' was located between Tenmabashi Station and Tenjinbashi Station, in the present day Osaka City. Watanabe no Tsuna took charge of Zama jinja Temple, also called Ikasuri Shrine. The hereditary guji (chief priest) of the temple were descending from Watanabe Kaoru, descendant of Watanabe no Tsuna. The original site of the shrine was different from the current one, and the main hall was in the place where Watanabe no tsu used to be. Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated to its current location near Nishiyokoborikawa River, at the address 3 Watanabe, 4-chome Watanabe, Kyutaromachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka City. It is the fifth most common Japanese surname. In the context of the Japanese economy, Mrs. Watanabe is a generic name for housewives who deal in foreign exchange. People with the surname A , Japanese badminton player , Japanese voice actress , Japanese composer , Japanese animator , Japanese special effects art director , Japanese motocross racer , Japanese Scouting leader ,