was a Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

lord and a powerful ''

gokenin A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods.Iwanami Kōjien, "Gokenin" In exchange for protection and the right to become '' jitō'' (manor's lord), a ''gokenin'' had in times of peace the duty to protect ...

'' of the

Kamakura Shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

during the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

. He was related to the ruling

Minamoto clan was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...

through his daughter's marriage. He, and much of the

Hiki clan The Hiki clan (比企氏, ''Hiki-shi'') was a Japanese samurai family descending from the Fujiwara clan. As close Retainer (medieval), retainers of shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo, they served the Kamakura shogunate during the early Kamakura period, w ...

, were killed for allegedly conspiring to have one of the Minamoto clan's heirs killed, in order to gain power himself.

Life

Originally from

Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, S ...

, Hiki Yoshikazu rose to prominence in the shogunal government as a result of being adopted by

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...

. Hiki's daughter was married to

Minamoto no Yoriie was the second ''shōgun'' (1202–1203) of Japan's Kamakura shogunate, and the first son of first shōgun Yoritomo. His Dharma name was Hokke-in-dono Kingo Da'i Zengo (法華院殿金吾大禅閤). Life Minamoto no Yoriie was born to Hōjō M ...

, the second shōgun of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

. Seriously ill, Yoriie proposed to name both his younger brother Sanetomo, and his young son (Hiki's grandson)

Minamoto no Ichiman was the eldest son of the 2nd Kamakura shōgun Minamoto no Yoriie.Kamakura Citizen's Net His mother, Wakasa no Tsubone, was Hiki Yoshikazu's daughter, and the child was brought up by the Hiki clan. A year after he was born, his grandfather, Min ...

to succeed him; the two would split power, governing separate parts of the country.According to Japanese Wikipedia's "源一幡" (Minamoto no Ichiman) article, the Gukanshō and the

Azuma Kagami is a Japanese historical chronicle. The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 12 ...

give different versions of the events. This is the Azuma Kagami's version. According to the Gukanshō, when in 1203 Yoriie became seriously ill, the Hōjō clan supported his younger brother Senman (future third shōgun Minamoto no Sanetomo) as a successor, while the Hiki supported son Ichiman. To avoid power falling into the hands of the Hiki, the Hōjō decided to get rid of the Hiki and their protege. This is the version of events described in the article

.
According to the same Wikipedia article, the Azuma Kagami claims Ichiman was killed by the Hiki, and not by the Hōjō. It seemed natural that Hiki would then be the regent, even if unofficially, to young Ichiman. He therefore suggested to Yoriie, who would be assassinated shortly afterwards by a separate faction (the Hōjō clan), that they arrange to have Sanetomo killed.

Hōjō Masako was a Japanese politician who exercised significant power in the early years of the Kamakura period, which was reflected by her contemporary sobriquet of the "nun shogun". She was the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo, and mother of Minamoto no Yo ...

, Yoriie's mother and wife of the first shōgun Yoritomo, overheard this conversation. Though Masako may have sought to have Hiki formally accused of treason and executed, the Hōjō, under

Hōjō Tokimasa was a Japanese samurai lord who was the first ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate and head of the Hōjō clan. He was ''shikken'' from 1203 until his abdication in 1205, and Protector of Kyoto from 1185 to 1186. Background The H� ...

, got to him first. In their schemes to dominate the regency and control the shogunate as a puppet government under their clan, Hōjō warriors assassinated Hiki Yoshikazu, and then attacked the palace of young Ichiman, setting a fire and killing both the young heir and a great number of members of the extended Hiki family.

Notes

References

*Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. *Sansom, George (1958). 'A History of Japan to 1334'. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiki, Yoshikazu 12th-century births 1203 deaths Minamoto clan People of Heian-period Japan People of Kamakura-period Japan