Ienari's children numbered 53, 55, or 57 depending on the source—26 sons and 27 daughters by one count. He had approximately 40 officially recorded concubines, and the inner palace employed over 900 attendants. Ienari used his enormous brood politically, placing them as adopted heirs or brides in powerful daimyo houses across Japan. The Owari Tokugawa, Kishu Tokugawa, Maeda, Shimazu, Asano, and Kuroda families—many of the major daimyo of the Bakumatsu era—came to carry Ienari's blood. This marriage strategy extended shogunal influence nationwide but simultaneously drained the treasury through enormous dowries and wedding expenses. His prodigious vigor earned him the secret nickname 'Seal Shogun.'