Hōjō Yasutoki (; 1183 – July 14, 1242) was the third ''
shikken
The was a senior government post held by members of the Hōjō clan, officially a regent of the shogunate. From 1199 to 1333, during the Kamakura period, the ''shikken'' served as the head of the ''bakufu'' (shogun's government). This era was ref ...
'' (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 Yori ...
in
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 ...
. He strengthened the political system of the Hōjō regency.
Life
He was the eldest son of second ''shikken''
Hōjō Yoshitoki. According to ''
Azuma Kagami'', he was liked by the first ''
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 ...
'',
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 ...
. In 1218, he became the chief (''
bettō'') of the Board of Retainers (''
samurai-dokoro'').
In the
Jōkyū War 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 go ...
.
After his victory, he remained in Kyoto and set up the ''
Rokuhara Tandai''. 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 Yori ...
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 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 ...
''. In 1225 he created the Hyōjō (), the council system of the shogunate. In 1232 he promulgated the ''
Goseibai Shikimoku'', 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 is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and Pabbajjā, monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The name is ...
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 the Heian period
People of the Kamakura period
Buddhist clergy of the Kamakura period
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