The was one of the most powerful

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 ...

families in Japan in the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

and held domains primarily in the

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...

. Their last name was simply Hōjō (北条) but in order to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan with the same name and '' mon'' were called "Later Hōjō", although this was not the official family name.

History

The history of the family is written in the ''Hōjō Godaiki''. The clan is traditionally reckoned to be started by Ise Shinkurō, who came from a branch of the prestigious Ise clan, descendants of Taira no Toshitsugu, a family in the direct service of the Ashikaga shoguns, as close advisors and ''

Shugo , commonly translated as “(military) governor,” “protector,” or “constable,” was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the ''shōgun'' to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The pos ...

'' (Governor) of

Yamashiro Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai. It overlaps the southern part of modern Kyoto Prefecture on Honshū. Aliases include , the rare , and . It is classified as an upper province in the ''Engishiki''. Yamashiro Province included Kyoto its ...

(Ise Sadamichi since 1493). During the Imagawa clan succession crisis in 1476, Shinkurō whose sister was married to

Imagawa Yoshitada was the father of the famed Imagawa Ujichika and the 9th head of the Imagawa clan. Yoshitada spent most of his time invading Tōtōmi Province, attacking the Katsumada and Yokota clans. However, after Yoshitada thought he had destroyed the cl ...

, Shugo (Governor) of

Suruga Province was an old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu, Kai, Sagami, Shinano, and Tōtōmi provinces; and was bordered by the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay to the south. Its abbrevia ...

, became associated with the

Imagawa clan was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji by way of the Kawachi Genji. It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan. Origins Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in ...

. At the death of Yoshitada in battle, Shinkurō went down to Suruga Province to support his nephew

Imagawa Ujichika was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. He was the 10th head of the Imagawa clan of Suruga Province. Ujichika was the son of Imagawa Yoshitada. He was the husband of Jukei-ni. Biography In 1476, Ujichika father, Yoshitada, invaded ...

. Through this relationship Shinkurō quickly established a base of power in Kantō. His son wanted his lineage to have a more illustrious name, and chose Hōjō, after the line of regents 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 ...

, to which his wife also belonged. So he became

Hōjō Ujitsuna was the son of Hōjō Sōun, founder of the Go-Hōjō clan. He continued his father's quest to gain control of the Kantō (the central area, today dominated by Tokyo, of Japan's main island). Biography In 1524, Ujitsuna took Edo Castle, whi ...

, and his father, Ise Shinkurō, was posthumously renamed

Hōjō Sōun , also known as was Japanese ''daimyo'' and the first head of the Later Hōjō clan, one of the major powers in Japan's Sengoku period. Although he only belonged to a side branch of the main, more prestigious Ise family, he fought his way up, gain ...

. The Late Hōjō, sometimes known as the Odawara Hōjō after their home castle of

Odawara is a 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 the far western por ...

Sagami Province was a province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu, Musashi, and Suruga. It had access to the Paci ...

, were not related to the earlier Hōjō clan. Their power rivaled that of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

, but eventually

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

eradicated the power of the Hōjō in the

siege of Odawara (1590) The third occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaign to eliminate the Hōjō clan as a threat to his power. The months leading up to it saw hasty but major improvements in the defense of the castle, as H ...

, banishing

Hōjō Ujinao Hōjō Ujinao (北条氏直: 1562 – December 19, 1591) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Sengoku period, and the final head of the Later Hōjō clan. An important figure in the history of Azuchi-Momoyama politics, he lost his entire d ...

and his wife Toku Hime (a daughter of

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

) to Mount Kōya, where Ujinao died in 1591. The tea master

Yamanoue Sōji Yamanoue Sōji (山上宗二 ; 1544–90) was a Japanese tea master. Originally a merchant from Sakai, he became a famous disciple of Sen no Rikyū and wrote the chronicle ''Yamanoue Sōji ki'' (山上宗二記), which gives commentary about Riky ...

, a disciple of

Sen no Rikyū , also known simply as Rikyū, is considered the historical figure with the most profound influence on ''chanoyu,'' the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspects ...

, was under the patronage of the Odawara lords. Following their fall, he was brutally executed on orders by

. The clan ruled

Sayama Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kawachi Province in what is now the southeastern portion of modern-day Osaka Prefecture. It was centered around the Sayama ''jin'ya'' which was located in what i ...

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawachi ...

through the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

Heads

The heads of the Late Hōjō clan were: *

(1432–1519) *

(1487–1541), son of Sōun *

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

(1515–1571), son of Ujitsuna *

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

(1538–1590), son of Ujiyasu *

(1562–1591), son of Ujimasa

Prominent vassals

* Hōjō Genan *

Hōjō Ujikuni was a samurai of the Sengoku period, and the third son of Hōjō Ujiyasu. Ujikuni was a high-ranking commander in the invasion of Kozuke Province, Kōzuke was contested between the later Hōjō clan, the Takeda and the Uesugi clans. He was als ...

* Hōjō Ujinori *

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. In 1568, Ujiteru defended Takiyama castle from Takeda Shingen. Later in 1569, Ujiteru and his brother ...

* Hōjō Ujitada *

Hōjō Tsunataka Hojo or Hōjō may refer to: Hojo or HoJo: *Howard Johnson's, a U.S. chain of restaurants and hotels *A nickname for Howard Johnson *A nickname for Howard Jones *A nickname for Howard Jones *MGR-1 Honest John, the first nuclear-capable missile ...

Hōjō Tsunashige or Hōjō Tsunanari also known as "Jio Hachiman", was an officer of great skill under the Hōjō clan. The brother in law of Hōjō Ujiyasu. Around the Kantō region, he fought in many battles supporting the Hōjō, also contributing to the e ...

Hōjō Ujishige Hojo or Hōjō may refer to: Hojo or HoJo: *Howard Johnson's, a U.S. chain of restaurants and hotels *A nickname for Howard Johnson *A nickname for Howard Jones *A nickname for Howard Jones *MGR-1 Honest John, the first nuclear-capable missile ...

Tame Mototada Tame may refer to: *Taming, the act of training wild animals *River Tame, Greater Manchester *River Tame, West Midlands and the Tame Valley *Tame, Arauca, a Colombian town and municipality * "Tame" (song), a song by the Pixies from their 1989 alb ...

Matsuda Norihide was a Japanese samurai and commander of the Sengoku period. He was one of the most important vassals of the Go-Hōjō clan and the salary he got was the highest among Go-Hōjō clan's vassals. On the occasion of the Siege of Odawara (1590), he ...

* Daidōji Morimasa * Daidōji Masashige * Tōyama Kagetsuna * Shimizu Yasuhide * Tominaga Naokatsu *

Fūma Kotarō was the name adopted by the leader of the ninja during the Sengoku era of feudal Japan. He was retainer of Later Hōjō clan. According to some records, his name was originally Kazama Kotarō (風間小太郎). The Fūma clan and Fūma Kota ...

* Naitō Tsunahide *

Ōta Ujisuke Ohta, Ōta, or Ota may refer to the following: People * Ota (wife of Arnulf of Carinthia), Queen of the East Franks 888-899, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire 896-899 * Ota (cartoonist), Brazilian cartoonist * Atsuya Ota, Japanese basketball pla ...

* Narita Nagayasu * Tōyama Tsunakage * Chiba Naotane *

Chiba Tanetomi Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

Later Hōjō clan’s prominent castles

;Castles and retainers:

Sagami Province

Odawara Castle is a landmark in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. History Odawara was a stronghold of the Doi clan during the Kamakura period, and a fortified residence built by their collateral branch, the Kobayakawa clan, stood on the ...

: Home castle of Later Hōjō clan,

Tamanawa Castle was a castle structure in Tamanawa ward of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The adopted brother of Hōjō Ujiyasu, Hōjō Tsunashige was command of the castle. History Hōjō Sōun who had been fighting with the Miura clan built the castle ...

: Hōjō Ujitoki,

*Misaki Castle : Hōjō Ujinori *

Ashigara Castle Ashigara may refer to: *Ashigara Pass in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan *Mount Ashigara in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan *Ashigara Station (Kanagawa), a railway station in Odawara, Kanagawa, Japan *Ashigara Station (Shizuoka) 270px, Platform is a ra ...

: Hōjō Ujimitsu * Tsukui Castle : Naito clan *

Kawamura Castle Kawamura ( or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aki Kawamura (), gravure idol and television idol * Hikaru Kawamura (), gravure idol * Sumiyoshi Kawamura (), Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy * Kageaki Kawa ...

Izu Province

Nirayama Castle is a hilltop castle, now largely ruins, built by Hōjō Sōun in the Izu Province in 1493. Originally, Sōun had his main castle at Kōkokuji Castle. After building Nirayama Castle, Sōun made it his main castle and kept on living in the castle ...

;

Yamanaka Castle was a Sengoku period ''yamajiro''-style Japanese castle, built by the Later Hōjō clan, Odawara Hōjō clan in Tagata District, Shizuoka, Tagata District, Izu Province, in what is now eastern Mishima, Shizuoka, Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japa ...

: Matsuda clan *

Nagahama Castle is a ''hirashiro'' (castle on a plain) located in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. History Nagahama Castle was built in 1575-1576 by Hashiba Hideyoshi (later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi) in the village then called Imahama, renaming the area ...

: (Hōjō navy’s castle) *

Shimoda Castle Shimoda may refer to: Places in Japan * Shimoda, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture ** Shimoda Ropeway, an aerial tramway which climbs Mount Nesugata *Shimoda, Aomori, a town in Aomori Prefecture *Shimoda Station, a railway station in Oirase, ...

; (Hōjō navy’s castle) Kasahara Yasukatsu, Shimizu Yasuhide *

Kōkokuji Castle was a Sengoku period ''yamashiro''-style Japanese castle located in the Negoya neighborhood of the city of Numazu, Shizuoka, Numazu, Shizuoka prefecture. The ruins have been protected as a Historic Sites of Japan, National Historic Site since 197 ...

Fukasawa Castle Fukasawa (written: 深澤 or 深沢) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese composer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese industrial designer {{surname Japanese-language surnames ...

*Maruyama Castle

Musashi Province

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...

: Tominaga Naokatsu, Hōjō Tsunataka *

Setagaya Castle is the remains of a castle structure in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a List of Historic Sites of Japan (Tōkyō), Prefectural Historic Sites. It is believed that the castle was constructed by the Kira clan in the Ōei ...

* Kozukue Castle : Kasahara clan * Takiyama Castle :

Hojo Ujiteru Hojo or Hōjō may refer to: Hojo or HoJo: *Howard Johnson's, a U.S. chain of restaurants and hotels *A nickname for Howard Johnson *A nickname for Howard Jones *A nickname for Howard Jones *MGR-1 Honest John, the first nuclear-capable missile ...

* Hachigata Castle :

Hachiōji Castle was a Sengoku period Japanese castle, located in what is now the city of Hachiōji, Tokyo, in the Kantō region of Japan Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1951, with the area under protection extended in 2005 ...

* Kurihashi Castle :

* Iwatsuki Castle * Taki-no Castle *Aoki Castle : Tame Mototada *

Oshi Castle 270px, Surviving gate of Oshi Castle is a Japanese castle located in Gyōda, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. During the Edo period, Oshi Castle was the center of the 100,000 ''koku'' Oshi Domain, but the castle is far better known for its associatio ...

: Narita clan *

Kasai Castle Kasai or Kasaï may refer to: Places Congo * Congo-Kasaï, one of the four large provinces of Belgian Congo * Kasaï District, in the Kasai-Occidental province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Kasai Province, one of the provinces ...

: Tōyama Kagetsuna *

Kawagoe Castle is a flatland Japanese castle in the city of Kawagoe, in Japan's Saitama Prefecture. It is the closest castle to Tokyo to be accessible to visitors, as Edo castle is now the Imperial palace, and largely inaccessible. Along with a number of othe ...

* Matsuyama Castle

Other Province

Matsuida Castle is the remains of a castle structure in Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. After Go-Hōjō's army defeated Takigawa Kazumasu's army in the Battle of Shintsugawa, Matsuida Castle was seized and controlled by the Go-Hōjō clan. Daidōji Masas ...

: Daidōji Masashige * Moto Sakura Castle :

Chiba clan The Chiba clan (千葉氏 ''Chiba-shi'') was a Japanese '' gōzoku'' and samurai family descending from the Taira clan. The clan was founded by Chiba Tsunetane, the son of Taira no Tadatsune. The Chiba governed in Shimōsa Province, and the cl ...

* Karasawa Castle : Sano clan *

Maebashi Castle is a Japanese castle, castle located in Maebashi, central Gunma Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Maebashi Castle was home to a branch of the Matsudaira clan, ''daimyō'' of Maebashi Domain, Maebashi domain, although the castle wa ...

Kitajō Takahiro , also known as Mōri Takahiro, was a Japanese samurai and commander of the Sengoku period. In 1563, he was appointed castle lord of Maebashi Castle, which was a strategically important castle for the Uesugi clan. Thereafter, he helped the Uesu ...

Numata castle is a Japanese castle located in Numata, Gunma, Numata, northern Gunma Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Numata Castle was home to the Toki clan, ''daimyō'' of Numata Domain, but the castle was ruled by various clans over its histor ...

* Hirai Castle : Tame Mototada *Usui Castle * Oyama Castle * Sekiyado Castle *

Koga Castle was a Japanese castle located in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. During the Muromachi period, Koga was the seat of the Kantō kubō, under the Ashikaga clan. At the end of the Edo period, Koga Castle was the administrative center of Koga D ...

In popular culture

Hyouge Mono is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by . It was serialized in the Seinen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Morning'' from 2005 to 2017 and collected into 25 volumes by publisher Kodansha. ''Hyouge Mono'' won an Excellence Prize ...

'' (へうげもの Hepburn: Hyōge Mono, lit. "Jocular Fellow") is a Japanese ''

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

'' written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Yamada. It was adapted into an ''

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

'' series in 2011, and includes a fictional depiction of the Hōjō. The Hōjō are a playable faction in the video game ''

Shogun 2 ''Total War: Shogun 2'' is a strategy video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega in 2011. It is part of the ''Total War'' series and returns to the 16th-century Japan setting of the first ''Total War'' game, '' Shogun: Total ...

''. The later Hōjō clan of the Sengoku jidai from the manga and anime of ''

Inuyasha is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in fifty-six '' ...

'', and the second movie '' Inuyasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass''.