Hojo Ujinao (1562 – December 19, 1591) was a Japanese daimyo of the late Sengoku period and the last leader of the Later Hojo clan. An important figure in Azuchi-Momoyama politics, he lost his entire domain following the Siege of Odawara (1590). Despite this, he survived, and his family continued as minor daimyo during the Edo period.
Born in Odawara Castle in 1562, Ujinao was the grandson of Hojo Ujiyasu and the son of Hojo Ujimasa, initially named Kuniomaru. His mother was the daughter of Takeda Shingen. In early 1577, he came of age and adopted the formal name Ujinao. To secure peace between their clans, he married Tokuhime, the second daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ujinao held junior 5th court rank, lower grade (ju-go-i-ge), and the title Sakyo-dayu. His first military engagement was during his father's invasion of Kazusa Province.
In 1582, after the death of Oda Nobunaga, the Hojo family capitalized on the chaos to launch an invasion of the Kai and Shinano provinces. Simultaneously, Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Uesugi clan aimed to control the same territories. This led to the Tensho-Jingo War, a triangular conflict between the Hojo, Tokugawa, and Uesugi factions.
By June 13, the Hojo clan captured Iwadono Castle in Tsuru District. Sanada Masayuki received Numata Castle from the Uesugi clan. Amidst the turmoil, Kawajiri Hidetaka was killed by local insurrectionists in Kai Province. On July 7, 1582, Toyotomi Hideyoshi authorized Ieyasu to secure Kai and Shinano provinces.
The Tokugawa army clashed with the Hojo forces at Wakamiko Castle, where 8,000 Tokugawa soldiers fought against 50,000 Hojo troops led by Ujinao. On July 12, Ujinao's forces advanced across Usui Pass, prompting Nobushige to retreat to a more defensible position. The Tokugawa forces eventually triumphed in the Battle of Kurokoma, repelling Hojo Ujinao's detachment with a daring raid led by Mizuno Katsushige and Torii Mototada. This victory prevented the Hojo from encircling the Tokugawa army.
In December, Sakai Tadatsugu subdued Suwa Yoritada at Suwa in Shinano, securing his surrender to the Tokugawa. The Hojo clan, recognizing their precarious position, negotiated a truce with Ieyasu. Representatives from the Oda clan, including Oda Nobukatsu and Oda Nobutaka, mediated the negotiations, leading to a formal conclusion of the truce. The invasion by Satake Yoshishige against Hojo territory also pushed the Hojo to accept the truce.
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 Shigetoki
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.
