Who was this person?
The eighth regent (shikken) of the Kamakura shogunate. Becoming regent in 1268, he rejected Kublai Khan’s demands for submission and led the vassals in repelling the two Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281. A devout follower of Zen, he founded Engaku-ji.
| Name | Hōjō Tokimune (北条時宗) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1251 – 1284 |
| Period | Kamakura period |
| Birthplace | Kamakura, Sagami Province (now Kanagawa) |
| Main achievements |
|
Born a son of the regent Hōjō Tokiyori, expected as heir even before birth.
His father Tokiyori, ill, passed the regency to a kinsman and took vows, but kept real power and waited for the young Tokimune to grow up.
At 10, during an archery event before the shogun, he is said to have hit the target splendidly while other warriors hesitated, impressing all.
His father Tokiyori died. A devoted Zen follower who had founded Kenchō-ji, he passed on to Tokimune his interest in Zen.
At 13 he became rensho, cosigner assisting the regent.
A letter arrived from the Mongol (Yuan) emperor Kublai demanding submission. That year, at 17, he became regent. The shogunate sent no reply and ordered the western defenses strengthened.
On suspicion of rebellion he had his half-brother Tokisuke and others struck down (February Disturbance), a harsh decision thought to unify the shogunate against the foreign threat.
A great Yuan-Goryeo army attacked Tsushima and Iki and landed at Hakata Bay. The vassals struggled against massed tactics and gunpowder bombs called tetsuhau, but the invaders withdrew to their ships after about a day.
He had the next Yuan envoys executed at Tatsunokuchi in Kamakura, a clear sign he would never submit; war became unavoidable.
He had a long stone defensive wall built along Hakata Bay; Kyūshū vassals took turns guarding it.
In the year Southern Song fell, he invited the Song Zen master Wuxue Zuyuan (Mugaku Sogen) to Kamakura and studied under him, seeking in Zen the calm to face the national crisis, it is said.
The Yuan attacked again with a vast army, said to number some 140,000. The wall and the vassals' fierce resistance blocked a landing, and then a storm sank many ships and the invaders withdrew.
To pray for all who died in the war, friend and foe alike, he founded Engaku-ji in Kamakura with Mugaku Sogen.
Still preparing against the Yuan, he fell ill and died on the day he took vows, in his early thirties. Vassals could not be properly rewarded, and their discontent would shake the shogunate.
A. The eighth regent (shikken) of the Kamakura shogunate. Becoming regent in 1268, he rejected Kublai Khan’s demands for submission and led the vassals in repelling the two Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281. A devout follower of Zen, he founded Engaku-ji.
A. Period: Kamakura period. Born in 1251, died in 1284.
A. Hōjō Tokimune was born in Kamakura, Sagami Province (now Kanagawa).
A. Two attacks on northern Kyūshū by the forces of the Mongol Yuan empire, in 1274 and 1281. Both times the invaders withdrew, helped by the vassals’ fierce resistance and by storms.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)HōnenMinamoto no YoritomoHōjō MasakoMinamoto no YoshitsuneShinranHōjō YasutokiDōgenNichiren
People of the Kamakura period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.