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
-
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.
-
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.
-
Hojo Soun
Hōjō Nagaudji was one of the prominent military commanders of the late Muromachi period. Thanks to a successful marriage alliance and skillful use of political intrigue, he managed to concentrate full power over the provinces of Suruga, Izu, and Sagami in his own hands. His origins remain unclear, but there is a possibility that he was connected to the Heiji clan of Ise Province, since early in his life he bore the name Ise Shinkurō.
-
Hirano Nagayasu
From an early age, Hirano Nagayasu was in the service of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, since Nagayasu’s father, Nagaharu, had faithfully served Hideyoshi during Hideyoshi’s own childhood. Thus, the connection between the Hirano family and the Toyotomi house was established long before Hideyoshi’s rise to power and took the form of hereditary vassal loyalty.
-
Hattori Hanzo
Hattori Hanzō, also known by the name Hattori Masanari, was the third son of Hattori Yasunaga, a samurai who served the Matsudaira clan. In his childhood he was called Tigachi Hanzō. His father held the highest rank in the shinobi hierarchy, that of jōnin, and Hanzō followed in his father’s footsteps, choosing the same path.
-
Hatano Hideharu
Hatano Hideharu was the eldest son of Hatano Harumichi, the head of the Hatano clan. However, in childhood he was adopted by his uncle, Hatano Motohide, and was therefore formally regarded as Motohide’s heir. From the time of Hideharu’s grandfather, Hatano Tanemichi, the Hatano clan had been a vassal of the powerful Miyoshi house, which exerted considerable influence over the Ashikaga shoguns and effectively shaped the political situation in the region. Early in his career, Hideharu served Miyoshi Nagayoshi and, judging by surviving records, held a fairly high position within his lord’s hierarchy, as he was among the select group invited to the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Ōgimachi in 1557.
-
Fukushima Masanori
Fukushima Masanori, a samurai from Owari Province, served Toyotomi Hideyoshi and took part in the Battle of Shizugatake, where he distinguished himself so conspicuously that he was awarded the honorary title of one of the “Seven Spears of Shizugatake,” meaning the warriors who had shown the greatest valor in the battle. As a reward for his courage and martial prowess, he was granted land producing an income of 5,000 koku of rice.
-
Uemura Masakatsu
Masakatsu was a member of the Uemura clan and the son of Uemura Masatada; from an early age he served Tokugawa Ieyasu. During the Ikkō-ikki uprising in Mikawa Province in 1563, having converted from the Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist sect to the Jōdoshū sect, he took part in suppressing the rebels. After these events, Masakatsu was appointed a military governor and was granted land holdings. According to a number of sources, he was one of the so-called “Three Governors of Mikawa” (Mikawa sanbugyō), together with Amano Yasukage (1537–1613) and Koriki Kiyonaga (1530–1608).
