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 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 ...

during the period of Regent Rule (1199–1333). It’s important not to confuse a regent of the shogunate with a regent of the Emperor (the latter are called ''Sesshō'' and ''Kampaku''). ''Shikkens'' were the first regents to the shogunate. The ''tokusō'' from 1256 to 1333 was the military dictator of Japan as ''de facto'' head of the ''bakufu'' (shogunate); despite the actual shōgun being merely a puppet. This implies that all other positions in Japan—the Emperor, the Imperial Court, ''Sesshō'' and ''Kampaku'', and the ''shikken'' (regent of the shōgun)—had also been reduced to

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 ...

s.「執権 (一)」（『国史大辞典 6』（吉川弘文館、 1985年））

Origin

The name ''tokusō'' is said to have come from , the Buddhist name of Hōjō Yoshitoki, but his father Hōjō Tokimasa is usually regarded as the first ''tokusō''. There were eight ''tokusō'' overall: # Hōjō Tokimasa # Hōjō Yoshitoki # Hōjō Yasutoki # Hōjō Tsunetoki # Hōjō Tokiyori # Hōjō Tokimune # Hōjō Sadatoki #

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 ...

The political structure of the ''tokusō'' dictatorship was set up by Yasutoki and was consolidated by his grandson Tokiyori. The ''tokusō'' line held overwhelming power over the ''

gokenin A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods.Iwanami Kōjien, "Gokenin" In exchange for protection and the right to become '' jitō'' (manor's lord), a ''gokenin'' had in times of peace the duty to protect ...

'' and the cadet lines of the Hōjō clan. Tokiyori often worked out policies at at his residence instead of discussing them at the , the council of the shogunate. This made the ''tokusō''s stronger. In 1256, Tokiyori separated the positions of ''shikken'' and ''tokusō'' for the first time. Because of an illness, he installed his infant son Tokimune as the ''tokusō'' while Nagatoki, a collateral relative, was appointed ''shikken'' to assist Tokimune.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokuso Government of feudal Japan Japanese historical terms

Origin

See also

References