Hōjō Yasutoki (; 1183 – July 14, 1242) was the third ''

shikken The was a titular post held by a member of the Hōjō clan, officially a regent of the shogunate, from 1199 to 1333, during the Kamakura period, and so he was head of the ''bakufu'' (shogunate). It was part of the era referred to as . During rou ...

'' (regent) 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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He strengthened the political system of the Hōjō regency.

Life

He was the eldest son of second ''shikken''

Hōjō Yoshitoki was the second Hōjō ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate and head of the Hōjō clan. He was the second son of Hōjō Tokimasa. He was ''shikken'' from the abdication of his father Tokimasa in 1205 until his death in 1224. Early y ...

. According to ''

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 ...

'', he was liked by the first ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'',

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 ...

. In 1218, he became the chief (''

bettō is a term which originally indicated the head of an institution serving temporarily as the head of another one, but which came to mean also the full-time head of some institution.Iwanami Japanese dictionaryEncyclopedia of Shinto, Bettō The Kama ...

'') of the Board of Retainers (''

samurai-dokoro The ''Samurai-dokoro'' (侍所 - Board of Retainers) was an office of the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates. The role of the ''Samurai-dokoro'' was to take the leadership of ''gokenin'', the shogun's retainers, and to be in charge of the imprisonme ...

''). In the

Jōkyū War , also known as the Jōkyū Disturbance or the Jōkyū Rebellion, was fought in Japan between the forces of Retired Emperor Go-Toba and those of the Hōjō clan, regents of the Kamakura shogunate, whom the retired emperor was trying to overthr ...

of 1221, he led shogunate forces against the

imperial court in Kyoto The Imperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji period (1868–1912), after which the court was moved from Kyoto (formerly Heian-kyō) to Tokyo (formerly Edo) and integrated into the Meiji gov ...

. After his victory, he remained in Kyoto and set up the ''

Rokuhara Tandai was the post of the chiefs of the Kamakura shogunate in Kyoto whose agency, the , kept responsibility for security in Kinai and judicial affairs on western Japan, and negotiated with the imperial court. Despite keeping security, the Rokuhara we ...

''. Yasutoki and his uncle Tokifusa became the first ''tandai''. When his father Yoshitoki and aunt

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 Yorii ...

died, he succeeded to become ''shikken'' in 1224. He installed Hōjō Tokifusa as the first ''

rensho The was the assistant to the ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan.Iwanami Kōjien, "Rensho" The rensho placed his signature next to that of the ''shikken'' on official orders. In 1224 the third ''shikken'' Hōjō Yasutoki appoi ...

''. In 1225 he created the Hyōjō (), the council system of the shogunate. In 1232 he promulgated the ''

Goseibai Shikimoku The Goseibai Shikimoku (御成敗式目) or the Formulary of Adjudications was the legal code of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan, promulgated by third shikken Hōjō Yasutoki on 27 August 1232. It is also called Jōei Shikimoku (貞永式目) af ...

'', the legal code of the shogunate. He was highly praised for his impartial justice. In 1242, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk and took the

Dharma name A Dharma name or Dhamma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The nam ...

Jōshōbō Kan'a (上聖房観阿). He died in the same year. His grandson Tsunetoki succeeded him to the post of ''shikken''.

References

External links

1183 births 1242 deaths Yasutoki Regents of Japan People of Heian-period Japan People of Kamakura-period Japan Kamakura period Buddhist clergy {{japan-noble-stub