The was a senior government post held by members of the

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of '' shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this perio ...

, officially a regent of the shogunate. From 1199 to 1333, during the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

, the ''shikken'' served as the head of the ''bakufu'' (shogun's government). This era was referred to as . During roughly the first half of that period, the ''shikken'' was the ''de facto'' military dictator of Japan (excluding the independent

Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.

). In 1256 the title of ''shikken'' was relegated to the second in command of the ''

Tokusō was the title (post) held by the head of the mainline Hōjō clan, who also monopolized the position of '' shikken'' (regents to the shogunate) of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan during the period of Regent Rule (1199–1333). It’s important ...

'' (a separate rank also monopolized by the Hojō clan). By the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

(1333–1573) the position, though not abolished, had lost much of its power and was no longer considered as one of the top ranks. The position was abolished after the Muromachi period.

Etymology

The word ''shikken'' is the

on'yomi , or the Sino-Japanese vocabulary, Sino-Japanese reading, is the reading of a kanji based on the historical Chinese pronunciation of the character. A single kanji might have multiple ''on'yomi'' pronunciations, reflecting the Chinese pronuncia ...

reading of the combination of the two

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

characters and , meaning "to hold (something in the hand, or a service or ceremony); to administer" and "power, authority" respectively. Therefore, the word literally means "to hold power/authority".

History

''Shikken'' as supreme ruler (1199–1256)

Though officially a regent for the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers 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, except during parts of the Kamak ...

'' in 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 Yori ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, on paper a ''shikken'' derived power from the ''shōgun'', in reality the ''shōgun'' had been reduced to a

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

in a similar marginalizing manner to how the emperor and imperial court had been reduced to figureheads by the first shōgun

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

.「執権 (一)」（『国史大辞典 6』（吉川弘文館、 1985年）） Both the posts of ''shikken'' and ''tokusō'' were monopolized by the

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 Hō ...

, was the father-in-law of Yoritomo through his wife

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 Yori ...

, and became the first ''shikken'' in 1203, after Yoritomo's death. The ''shikken'' was the chief of the '' mandokoro'' at that time. Tokimasa became the ''de facto'' ruler of the shōgunate by monopolizing decisions for the young shōguns Yoriie and Sanetomo who were the sons of Yoritomo and Masako and thus Tokimasa's maternal grandchildren, executing whoever got in his way, family or not. Tokimasa's grandson Yoriie and great-grandson were murdered on Tokimasa's orders, a year after he replaced the more independent Yoriie with his younger brother Sanetomo as shōgun. Tokimasa's son Yoshitoki strengthened the position of ''shikken'' by integrating it with the post of Samurai-dokoro, after annihilating the powerful Wada clan, who had dominated the latter position. The ''shikken'' became the highest post, controlling puppet ''shōguns'' in practice. In 1224, Yoshitoki's son

Hōjō Yasutoki Hōjō Yasutoki (; 1183 – July 14, 1242) was the third ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. He strengthened the political system of the Hōjō regency. Life He was the eldest son of second ''shikken'' Hōjō Yoshitoki. A ...

set up the position of ''

rensho The was the assistant to the '' shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate in medieval Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on th ...

'' (cosigner), or assistant regent.

''Shikken'' as ''tokusō'' subordinate (1256–1333)

Hōjō Tokiyori was the fifth shikken (regent of shogun) of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. Early life He was born to warrior monk Hōjō Tokiuji and a daughter of Adachi Kagemori, younger brother of Hōjō Tsunetoki, the fourth shikken, and grandson of ...

separated the two posts of ''tokusō'' (initially head of the Hōjō clan) and ''shikken'' in 1256. He installed

Hōjō Nagatoki Hōjō Nagatoki (, 1227–1264) was the sixth '' Shikken'' (1256–1264) of the Kamakura Bakufu and the 4th Chief of the Rokuhara Tandai North Branch ''Kitakata,'' son of Hōjō Shigetoki, grandson of Hōjō Yoshitoki, the second ''Shikken''. ...

as ''shikken'' while designating his son Tokimune to succeed as ''tokusō''. Effective power was moved from ''shikken'' to ''tokusō''. Tokimune, contemporaneous with

Mongol invasions of Japan Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to Vassal state, vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attemp ...

, at one point personally occupied all 3 most powerful posts of the shogunate, and thus Japan: ''tokusō'', ''shikken'', and ''rensho''.

List of shikken

(r. 1199–1205) # Hōjō Yoshitoki (r. 1205–1224) #

(r. 1224–1242) # Hōjō Tsunetoki (r. 1242–1246) #

(r. 1246–1256) #

(r. 1256–1264) #

Hōjō Masamura was the seventh ''Shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura Shogunate, regining from 1264 to 1268. He was the son of Hōjō Yoshitoki, the second ''Shikken,'' and brother of Hōjō Yasutoki and Hōjō Shigetoki. Life Hōjō Masamura was born on Jul ...

(r. 1264–1268) #

Hōjō Tokimune of the Hōjō clan was the eighth ''shikken'' (officially regent of the shōgun, but ''de facto'' ruler of Japan) of the Kamakura shogunate (reigned 1268–84), known for leading the Japanese people, Japanese forces against the Mongol invasions ...

(r. 1268–1284) # Hōjō Sadatoki (r. 1284–1301) # Hōjō Morotoki (r. 1301–1311) #

Hōjō Munenobu was the eleventh ''Shikken'' (1311–1312) of the Kamakura shogunate. He is also known as Osaragi Munenobu (). References

1259 births 1312 deaths Hōjō clan People of the Kamakura period {{Japan-noble-stub ...

(r. 1311–1312) # Hōjō Hirotoki (r. 1312–1315) #

Hōjō Mototoki was the thirteenth ''Shikken'' (1315–1316) 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 Encycloped ...

(r. 1315–1316) #

Hōjō Takatoki was the last '' Tokusō'' and ruling Shikken (regent) of Japan's Kamakura shogunate; the rulers that followed were his puppets. A member of the Hōjō clan, he was the son of Hōjō Sadatoki, and was preceded as ''shikken'' by Hōjō Mototo ...

(r. 1316–1326) #

Hōjō Sadaaki was the 12th ''rensho'' (1315–1326) and 15th ''shikken'' (19 April 1326 – 29 April 1326) of the Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. ...

(r. 1326) #

Hōjō Moritoki Hojo Moritoki (, 1295–1333) was the last '' Shikken'' (Regent) of the Kamakura shogunate and the last regent of the Hōjō clan. References 1295 births 1333 deaths Hōjō clan People of the Kamakura period {{Japan-bio-st ...

(r. 1326–1333) #

Hōjō Sadayuki Hōjō Sadayuki (北条貞将, 1302 – July 4, 1333) was a Japanese samurai lord of the late Heian period. He was the son and heir apparent of Hōjō Sadaaki, the 15th ''Shikken'' of the Kamakura shogunate, Kamakura Shogunate. There is a theory ...

(r. 1333)

References