The Shibukawa clan was not only a branch of the Ashikaga clan, but also a birthplace of the seishitsu (legal wife) of Yoshiakira ASHIKAGA, the second Shogun of the Muromachi bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), so it was a family of pedigree that was treated as a family member of the Shogun family in the whole of the Ashikaga clan as well as the Kira clan, the Shiba clan and others.
渋川氏は足利氏の支流であるばかりでなく、室町幕府2代将軍足利義詮の正室の生家でもあり、吉良氏や斯波氏同様、足利氏一門の中でも将軍家の家族として遇された名門である。