was a ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' (warlord) and third head of the Odawara Hōjō clan. Known as the "Lion of Sagami", he was revered as a fearsome samurai and a cunning man. He is famous for his strategies of breaking the siege from

Takeda Shingen was daimyō, daimyo of Kai Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Known as "the Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and credited with exceptional military prestige. Shingen was based in a p ...

and

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as , was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (magnate). He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period ...

. A son of Hōjō Ujitsuna (北条氏綱), his only known wife was

Imagawa Yoshimoto was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the Sengoku period. Based in Suruga Province, he was known as ; he was one of the three ''daimyō'' that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He died in 1560 while marching to Kyoto to become Shogun. He ...

's sister, Zuikei-in. Among his sons are

Hōjō Ujimasa was the fourth head of the later Hōjō clan, and ''daimyō'' of Odawara. Ujimasa succeeded the territory expansion policy from his father, Hōjō Ujiyasu, and achieved the biggest territory in the clan's history. Early life and rise In 1538 ...

and Uesugi Kagetora.

Early life and rise

Born in 1515, his childhood name was Chiyomaru (千代丸). He fought his first battle when he was fifteen years old, facing

Uesugi Tomooki was a lord of Edo Castle and enemy of the Hōjō clan, who seized the castle in 1524. He was the son of Uesugi Tomoyoshi, who was among the first to oppose the Hōjō's rise to power. Biography In 1516, Tomooki took part in the siege of Arai ...

of the Ōgigayatsu

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi period, Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries).Georges Appert, Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its heigh ...

(扇谷上杉家) at the Battle of Ozawahara in 1530. Upon his father's death in 1541, a number of the later Hōjō's enemies sought to take advantage of the opportunity to seize major Hōjō strongholds. Faced with almost endless warfare, Ujiyasu was compelled to reorganize the administration of the Hōjō lands. He had already ordered a series of aggressive cadastral surveys between 1542 and 1543, and in 1550, he overhauled the Kandaka ( ja) taxation system.

Odawara is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in ...

, where his home castle Odawara Castle (小田原城) was located, was gradually transformed into an important trading center by modifying the region's throughways (which were hitherto designed with

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

as a hub) and creating an artisan's guild within the castle town. In addition, post stations and market places sprung up throughout the Hôjô's lands. Ujiyasu soon became one of the main powers in the

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

Conflict with Uesugi

In 1545, Uesugi Tomosada, of the Ōgigayatsu Uesugi clan and the eldest legitimate son of

, attempted to regain Kawagoe Castle for the Uesugi clan. Tomosada allied himself with the Koga Kubo Ashikaga Haruuji (足利晴氏) and Uesugi Norimasa (上杉憲政) of the Yamauchi Uesugi clan (山内上杉家) and besieged Kawagoe Castle ( Siege of Kawagoe Castle). The castle garrison, led by Hōjō Tsunashige (北条綱成), the stepson of Ujiyasu's brother Tamemasa (北条為昌) and son-in-law of Ujitsuna, was outnumbered 3,000 to allegedly 80,000 men. Ujiyasu, leading a relief force of 8,000 soldiers, slipped some samurai past the enemy lines to inform Tsunashige of the enemy's approach, and made use of

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

to learn of the enemy's strategy and attitude. Using this intelligence, he led a night raid against the Ashikaga-Uesugi forces, which is now said to be one of the most notable examples of night fighting in samurai history. "The result was the complete defeat of the Uesugi forces and the Koga contingent. From that date the Go-Hōjō ("Later-Hōjō") as they were called, went on to further triumphs, beginning with the destruction of the Uesugi family." Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Hōjō army defeated the besiegers because, under Ujiyasu's orders, they were not bulked down by heavy armor and were not slowed by seeking to take heads. This victory marked the decisive turning point in the struggle for the Kanto, and in the following years, proved the end of the Ōgigayatsu Uesugi line and destroyed the prestige of Uesugi Norimasa of the Yamanouchi Uesugi clan as Kantō kanrei (Governor-General of

, ). As a result, many of the Kantō warlords became vassals of the Hōjō clan. In 1551, Ujiyasu defeated Uesugi Norimasa at Hirai Castle () and forced him to flee to Echigo, where he was taken into the protective custody of his retainer Nagao Kagetora, the later day

and heir to Norimasa by adoption. In 1559, Ujiyasu retired at the age of 45 and

inherited formal leadership of the family. In 1561, Kenshin assumed the post of Kantō kanrei from Uesugi Norimasa and in the same year tried to conquer the region once more. Kenshin besieged Odawara Castle and burned down the town, withdrawing after two months ( Siege of Odawara (1561)).

Hojo expansion

In 1561, after Uesugi withdrew from Odawara, the Hojo clan seized Iwatsuki Castle against Ōta Sukemasa and almost conquered whole

Musashi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kawasaki and Yokohama. ...

. In 1563, Ujiyasu allied himself with

and regained Matsuyama Castle (松山城)Also known as Musashi-Matsuyama Castle (武蔵松山城). in

against Uesugi Norikatsu (上杉憲勝) ( Siege of Musashi-Matsuyama (1563)). In 1564, he took Kōnodai in

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture as well as the bordering parts of Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo (the parts that used to be located east of the lower reaches of the old Tone River prior to the ...

following a battle against Satomi Yoshihiro (里見義弘) ( Battle of Kōnodai (1564)). Following this victory, Ujiyasu pushed on into Shimosa Province and Kazusa Province, but was never able to destroy the Satomi clan, who remained a thorn in the Hôjô's side right up until 1590. Ujiyasu expanded the Hōjō territory, which now covered five

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

( Sagami, Izu, Musashi, Shimosa and Kazusa), and managed and maintained what his father and grandfather had held. After the second battle of Konodai in 1564, the Hōjō largely contented themselves with ruling the vast tracts of land earned through 60 years of war and toil. Ujiyasu's eastern moves brought the Hōjō into conflict against the

Satake clan The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. Its first power base was in Hitachi Province. The clan was subdued by Minamoto no Yoritomo in the late 12th century, but later entered Yoritomo's serv ...

Hitachi Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hitachi fudoki''" in . It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Shimōsa Province, S ...

. At the Battle of Numajiri in 1567, Satake Yoshishige defeated the Hojo forces and limited their expansion.

Conflict with Takeda

Towards the end of his life Ujiyasu saw the first major conflicts between his own clan and

(武田信玄), who would become one of the greatest warlords of the period. In 1568, in response to Hōjō's intervention into his invasion of

Suruga Province was an Provinces of Japan, old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu Province, Izu, Kai Province, Kai, Sagami Province, Sagami, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Province, Tōtōm ...

, Shingen came into

from his home province of Kai, attacking Hachigata (鉢形城) ( Siege of Hachigata (1568)) and Takiyama (滝山城) Castles, where Ujiyasu's sons repulsed them. In 1569, after failing to take the two castles, Shingen nevertheless pressed on to the Hōjō's home castle of Odawara, burning the castle town and withdrawing after three days ( Siege of Odawara (1569)). As the forces of Shingen withdrew from repeated failed sieges of Odawara Castle, two of Ujiyasu's seven sons, the brothers Ujiteru and Ujikuni, attacked him in the pass of Mimase ( Battle of Mimasetoge), ending the first of the Takeda campaigns against the Hōjō at Sagami province. Later in the year, Shingen's son and future successor

Takeda Katsuyori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (military lord) of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was son-in-law of Hojo Ujiyasu, ''daimyō'' of Hojo clan. Early life H ...

(武田勝頼) led a successful siege against the Hojo Kanbara Castle (蒲原城) in Suruga province ( Siege of Kanbara). Takeda Shingen also laid siege to other Hōjō holdings in the surrounding provinces, including Fukazawa castle (深沢城) in Suruga province which was taken in 1571 ( Siege of Fukazawa).

Death

Subsequently, Ujiyasu managed to make peace with

and

, the most powerful adversaries of Hōjō Ujiyasu, letting his seventh son Hōjō Saburō be adopted by childless Kenshin and accepting the ''

fait accompli Many words in the English vocabulary are of French language, French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman conquest of England, Norman ...

'' of Shingen's reign over Suruga. To cement the ties of Takeda-Imagawa-Hojo, Ujiyasu also gave his two daughters to those two clans; Lady Hayakawa wed to Imagawa Ujizane, while Lady Hojo (Hojo Masako) wed to

becoming his second wife. Ujiyasu died in 1571, passing on the Hōjō domains to his eldest son Ujimasa (北条氏政) in a relatively favourable situation.

Family

* Father: Hojo Ujitsuna * Mother: Yojuin-dono * Wife: Zuikein (d.1590) * Adopted brother: Hōjō Tsunashige * Concubines: ** sister of Katsurayama Yasumitsu ** Matsuda-dono * Children: ** Hojo Shinkuro (1537–1552) by Zuikein ** Lady Hayakawa ** Lady Hojo (1564–1582) married

by Matsuda-dono **

by Zuikein ** Jokoin married Ashikaga Yoshiuji and gave birth to Ashikaga Ujinohime. ** Nanamagari-dono married Hojo Ujishige **

Hōjō Ujiteru (1540? – August 10, 1590) was a Japanese samurai, who was the son of Hōjō Ujiyasu and lord of Hachiōji Castle in what is now Tokyo. He fought in the Siege of Odawara (1561) and Battle of Konodai (1564). In 1568, Ujiteru defended Takiyama ...

by Zuikein ** Chorin’in married Ota Ujisuke ** Hōjō Ujikuni by Zuikein ** Ozaki-dono married Chiba Chikatane ** Hōjō Ujinori by Zuikein ** Tanseikuji-dono married Ogasawara Yasuhiro ** Hōjō Ujitada (d.1593) ** Kikuhime married Satomi Yoshiyori ** Hōjō Ujimitsu (d.1590) ** daughter married Chiba Toshitane ** Uesugi Kagetora by sister of Katsurayama Yasumitsu