In the manga, he was just fat balding lieutenant of the Tokugawa clan who was used as a stand-in for real Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was disposed off by Ieyasu himself when his identity was revealed.

In the anime, he is the real Tokugawa Ieyasu, but he was long dead and transformed into Kenyou under control of Santera. He was killed by his son Hidetada (Benitora).