Hōjō Shigetoki, the third son of Hōjō Yoshitoki, was still very young—only five years old—when his grandfather Tokimasa became the first member of the Hōjō clan to assume the position of shogunal regent.
In 1223, Shigetoki was appointed governor of Suruga Province, and a few years later, in 1230, he became the shogun’s deputy in Kyoto. He held this important post for a long time, until 1247. In that year, the rival Miura clan suffered its final defeat, after which Shigetoki went to Kamakura to assist the regent Tokiyori in organizing and strengthening the bakufu government.
In 1256, he took Buddhist vows and withdrew from secular life, retiring to Gokuraku-ji, a temple of the Ritsu school that he himself had founded. There he spent the remaining years of his life in seclusion, devoted to contemplation and religious practice. His lifetime coincided with an era marked by the consolidation of the political and economic power of the warrior class, a period of relative stability compared to the preceding turmoil of the Genpei Wars, and the time immediately preceding the Ashikaga clan’s uprising.
Hōjō Shigetoki became known for his selfless support of high-ranking relatives who held positions within the bakufu administration, as well as for his deep and sincere devotion to Buddhism. Two of his writings have survived to the present day: The Precepts of Lord Rokuhara, a collection of practical advice written in 1247 for his son Nagatoki, and The Message of the Master of Gokuraku-ji, composed shortly after 1256 and addressed to his son and the senior members of the clan.
The latter text consists of one hundred articles and is written in the kanamajiri style. Its central theme is the moral duties of the warrior and the standards of conduct that leading members of the warrior class were ideally expected to follow. Throughout the work runs a strong emphasis on the Buddhist teaching of compassion for all living beings and a profound reflection on the principle of karmic retribution. It stresses that women, children, and all those of lower social standing should be treated with kindness and care, and even the very concept of loyalty to one’s superiors is imbued more with a religious than a Confucian sensibility.
See also
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Yamagata Masakage
Masakage was one of Takeda Shingen’s most loyal and capable commanders. He was included in the famous list of the “Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen” and also belonged to the inner circle of four especially trusted warlords known as the Shitennō.
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Yagyu Munenori
Yagyū Munenori began his service under Tokugawa Ieyasu while his father, Yagyū Muneyoshi, was still at his side. In 1600, Munenori took part in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. As early as 1601, he was appointed a kenjutsu instructor to Tokugawa Hidetada, Ieyasu’s son, who later became the second shogun of the Tokugawa clan.
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Yagyu Muneyoshi
A samurai from Yamato Province, he was born into a family that had been defeated in its struggle against the Tsutsui clan. Muneyoshi first took part in battle at the age of sixteen. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he was forced to enter the service of the Tsutsui house and later served Miyoshi Tōkei. He subsequently came under the command of Matsunaga Hisahide and in time became a vassal first of Oda and later of Toyotomi.
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Endo Naozune
Naozune served under Azai Nagamasa and was one of the clan’s leading vassals, renowned for his bravery and determination. He accompanied Nagamasa during his first meeting with Oda Nobunaga and at that time asked for permission to kill Nobunaga, fearing him as an extremely dangerous man; however, Nagamasa did not grant this request.
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Hosokawa Sumimoto
Sumimoto came from the Hosokawa clan: he was the biological son of Hosokawa Yoshiharu and at the same time the adopted son of Hosokawa Masamoto, the heir of Hosokawa Katsumoto, one of the principal instigators of the Ōnin War. Masamoto was homosexual, never married, and had no children of his own. At first he adopted Sumiyuki, a scion of the aristocratic Kujō family, but this choice provoked dissatisfaction and sharp criticism from the senior vassals of the Hosokawa house. As a result, Masamoto changed his decision and proclaimed Sumimoto as his heir, a representative of a collateral branch of the Hosokawa clan that had long been based in Awa Province on the island of Shikoku. Almost immediately after this, the boy became entangled in a complex and bitter web of political intrigue.
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Honda Masanobu
Masanobu initially belonged to the retinue of Tokugawa Ieyasu, but later entered the service of Sakai Shōgen, a daimyo and priest from Ueno. This shift automatically made him an enemy of Ieyasu, who was engaged in conflict with the Ikkō-ikki movement in Mikawa Province. After the Ikkō-ikki were defeated in 1564, Masanobu was forced to flee, but in time he returned and once again entered Ieyasu’s service. He did not gain fame as a military commander due to a wound sustained in his youth; nevertheless, over the following fifty years he consistently remained loyal to Ieyasu.
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Honda Masazumi
Masazumi was the eldest son of Honda Masanobu. From a young age, he served Tokugawa Ieyasu alongside his father, taking part in the affairs of the Tokugawa house and gradually gaining experience in both military and administrative matters. At the decisive Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Masazumi was part of the core Tokugawa forces, a clear sign of the high level of trust Ieyasu placed in him. After the campaign ended, he was given a highly sensitive assignment—serving in the guard of the defeated Ishida Mitsunari, one of Tokugawa’s principal enemies—an obligation that required exceptional reliability and caution.
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Hojo Masako
Masako was one of the most influential and powerful political figures of the era of military rule in Japan. She was the daughter of Hōjō Tokimasa and the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo.
