He was born the eldest son of Hōjō Yoshitoki, with the childhood name Kongō. His mother is said to have been Awa no Tsubone, a lady of the shogun's household, but her origins are unclear. His father had followed Minamoto no Yoritomo's uprising with Tokimasa and entered Kamakura three years before, and the Hōjō were valued as the family of Yoritomo's wife Masako.
Around this time, the vassal Taga Shigeyuki was rebuked by Yoritomo for not dismounting to greet Yasutoki. Yasutoki defended him, saying there had been no rudeness, but according to the Azuma Kagami Yoritomo confiscated Shigeyuki's lands and gave Yasutoki a sword as a reward. The story is seen as showing Yasutoki's character.
He came of age with Yoritomo as his sponsor and, given the character "Yori," took the name Yoritoki. At the same time, by Yoritomo's order, he was engaged to a granddaughter of Miura Yoshizumi, a powerful vassal of Sagami. He later changed his name to Yasutoki, but when and why is unclear.
He took a daughter of Miura Yoshimura as his principal wife, and the next year his heir Tokiuji was born. The Miura were powerful vassals in Sagami, and the match strengthened the bond between the Hōjō and the Miura. He later parted from Yoshimura's daughter and married a daughter of Abo Sanekazu.
With his father Yoshitoki he fought and destroyed Wada Yoshimori, head of the Samurai-dokoro. For his service Yasutoki was made jitō of Tōda District in Mutsu. After this battle the Hōjō also gained the headship of the Samurai-dokoro, further strengthening their power within the shogunate.
When Retired Emperor Go-Toba raised troops to overthrow the shogunate, Yasutoki marched on Kyoto as commander-in-chief of the shogunal army, defeated the retired emperor's forces and entered the capital. According to the Jōkyūki, he at first favored caution but, urged by Ōe no Hiromoto, left Kamakura with only a few followers.
After the war he became head of the northern office of the newly created Rokuhara Tandai in Kyoto, with his uncle Tokifusa heading the southern office. Yasutoki stayed in Kyoto to watch the court, deal with the aftermath of the war and oversee the vassals of the west. This experience in Kyoto is said to have served him in his later government.
When his father died suddenly he returned to Kamakura and, backed by his aunt Hōjō Masako, became shikken (regent). In the Iga Incident his stepmother Lady Iga tried to install her own son Masamura, but Yasutoki did not punish Masamura. It is said he gave most of his father's lands to his younger brothers and sisters, keeping only a little for himself.
When Ōe no Hiromoto and Masako died one after the other, Yasutoki brought in his uncle Tokifusa as rensho (co-signer) and chose a Council of State from leading vassals and officials. He began government by consultation, deciding important matters through discussion, and reformed the system, dating from Yoritomo, in which power was concentrated in one person.
His eldest son Tokiuji died young of illness. Three years earlier his second son Tokizane had been killed by a retainer, and this same year his daughter, married to Miura Yasumura, also died after giving birth. Yasutoki suffered the deep grief of losing family members one after another.
After several years of bad weather, the Kangi Famine reached its worst this year, and many people across the country suffered from hunger. Yasutoki was kept busy responding to it. This social unrest is also said to have been part of the background that made the need to judge warriors' disputes by clear rules keenly felt.
Together with the Council of State he issued the Goseibai Shikimoku, a code of fifty-one articles. It was Japan's first law code for warriors, based on precedents since Yoritomo and on "dōri," the common sense of warrior society. Yasutoki sent letters to his brother Shigetoki in Kyoto explaining the purpose of the code.
When Emperor Shijō died, he strongly opposed the accession of a son of Retired Emperor Juntoku, who had taken part in the Jōkyū War, and installed Emperor Go-Saga. That year he took Buddhist vows and soon died of illness, succeeded by his grandson Tsunetoki. The Shasekishū praises him as a wise man who felt the people's sorrows as his own.
Minamoto no YoritomoHōjō Masako
HōnenMinamoto no YoritomoHōjō MasakoMinamoto no YoshitsuneShinranDōgenNichirenHōjō Tokimune
People of the Kamakura period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.