Who was this person?
A warrior of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods and the first shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate. A local lord of Izu, he backed Minamoto no Yoritomo's uprising after his daughter Masako married Yoritomo. After Yoritomo's death he joined the council of thirteen and seized real power by defeating Hiki Yoshikazu, but was forced to retire to Izu after the Maki clan incident.
| Name | Hōjō Tokimasa (北条時政) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1138 – 1215 |
| Period | Late Heian–Kamakura |
| Birthplace | Hōjō, Izu Province |
| Main achievements |
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He was born into a warrior family based at Hōjō in Izu, now Izunokuni in Shizuoka Prefecture. His father's name is given as Tokikata or Tokiie, and the family's origins are disputed. The family claimed descent from the Taira, but it was only a minor local clan of Izu, and almost no records of his youth survive.
Minamoto no Yoritomo, son of Yoshitomo, who had been defeated in the Heiji Rebellion, was exiled to Izu. Tokimasa, as an Izu warrior serving the Taira, is said to have found himself close to the exile. This meeting with the young exile would later transform the fortunes of the Hōjō family.
Around this time his daughter Masako became Yoritomo's wife. Fearing the Taira, Tokimasa opposed the match, but Masako is said to have run to Yoritomo through the rain at night. Tokimasa eventually accepted the couple and became the exile's backer. The year of the marriage is disputed.
When Yoritomo raised troops to overthrow the Taira, Tokimasa joined with his clan and struck down Yamaki Kanetaka, the deputy governor of Izu. But in the following Battle of Ishibashiyama they were badly beaten, and he lost his eldest son Munetoki. Tokimasa went to the Takeda of Kai, gathering allies to support Yoritomo's recovery.
When Masako learned that Yoritomo kept his mistress Kame no Mae nearby, she had Maki Munechika, father of Tokimasa's second wife, wreck the woman's house. When the angry Yoritomo humiliated Munechika by cutting off his topknot, Tokimasa protested by withdrawing to Izu with his clan. Yoritomo is said to have been careful not to anger Tokimasa further.
After the Taira were destroyed, he led troops to Kyoto as Yoritomo's deputy. He is said to have negotiated with Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa and won approval to appoint shugo and jitō throughout the country. He also showed his skill in keeping order in Kyoto, returning to Kamakura the next year. He contributed greatly to laying the shogunate's foundations.
To pray for victory in Yoritomo's campaign in Ōshū, he founded the temple Ganjōju-in at his home base of Hōjō in Izu. The temple preserves statues such as an Amida Buddha made by the young sculptor Unkei, now National Treasures. It shows that the Hōjō were growing in power and also cared for culture.
During Yoritomo's great hunt at the foot of Mount Fuji, the Soga brothers killed Kudō Suketsune, their father's enemy. The younger brother Tokimune was a young man whose coming-of-age ceremony Tokimasa had sponsored. Some think Tokimasa was secretly involved, but nothing is certain.
Yoritomo died and the young Yoriie succeeded him as the second shogun. Rather than leave everything to the shogun, a council of thirteen senior vassals was set up to judge suits, and Tokimasa joined it along with his son Yoshitoki. Rivalry with the Hiki, the family of Yoriie's wife, grew deeper.
When Yoriie fell gravely ill, Tokimasa invited Hiki Yoshikazu to his residence, had him killed and destroyed the Hiki clan; this is called the Hiki Yoshikazu Incident. Yoriie was removed as shogun and sent to Shuzen-ji in Izu, and his younger brother Sanetomo became the third shogun. Tokimasa took real power as head of the Mandokoro and is called the first shikken.
After a quarrel between Hiraga Tomomasa, son-in-law of his second wife Maki no Kata, and the son of Hatakeyama Shigetada, Tokimasa accused Shigetada of rebellion and had him attacked and killed. Shigetada was a widely respected warrior and is said to have been innocent. The affair spread discontent with Tokimasa among the gokenin.
He is said to have plotted with Maki no Kata to remove the shogun Sanetomo and install Hiraga Tomomasa, but his daughter Masako and son Yoshitoki stopped them; this is called the Maki clan incident. Tokimasa became a monk and withdrew to Hōjō in Izu, and Yoshitoki succeeded him as shikken. Tomomasa was struck down in Kyoto.
He died at Hōjō in Izu without ever returning to the political stage. Almost no records describe his last years. Building on the power Tokimasa had won, the Hōjō would go on to run the Kamakura shogunate as shikken for more than a century.
A. A warrior of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods and the first shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate. A local lord of Izu, he backed Minamoto no Yoritomo's uprising after his daughter Masako married Yoritomo. After Yoritomo's death he joined the council of thirteen and seized real power by defeating Hiki Yoshikazu, but was forced to retire to Izu after the Maki clan incident.
A. Period: Late Heian–Kamakura. Born in 1138, died in 1215.
A. Hōjō Tokimasa was born in Hōjō, Izu Province.
A. In 1205 he is said to have plotted with his second wife Maki no Kata to remove the shōgun Minamoto no Sanetomo and install his son-in-law Hiraga Tomomasa. His son Hōjō Yoshitoki and daughter Masako opposed him, and after this Maki clan incident Tokimasa took the tonsure and retired to Hōjō in Izu.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Minamoto no YoritomoHōjō MasakoHōjō YoshitokiMinamoto no Sanetomo
HōnenMinamoto no YoritomoHōjō MasakoMinamoto no YoshitsuneHōjō YoshitokiShinranHōjō YasutokiMinamoto no Sanetomo
People of the Kamakura period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.