Hojo Yoshitoki

Japanese: 北条義時 - ほうじょう・よしとき

Year of death: 13th June 1st, 1224 (1st July 1224)
Year of birth: Chokan 1 (1163)
The second regent of the Kamakura Shogunate. His father was Tokimasa and his mother was the daughter of Ito Nyudo. When Minamoto no Yoritomo was driven out of Ito and took refuge in the Hojo mansion early on, Tokimasa provided the building and served Yoritomo. After Yoritomo raised an army in 1180, Tokimasa became the family head after his older brother Munetoki was killed in the Battle of Ishibashiyama, and he also acted as Yoritomo's close aide. After distinguishing himself in battles against the Taira clan and in the Oshu War, Tokimasa gained Yoritomo's trust to the point that he was called "the most important vassal" when Yoritomo went to Kyoto in 1190. After Yoritomo's death, he worked in cooperation with his sister Masako, and in 1199 he was chosen as one of the thirteen vassals to assist Minamoto no Yoriie. During the Hiki Rebellion in 1203, he attacked the mansion of Yoriie's son Ichiman, and defeated Nitta Tadatsune and others who had attacked Masako's palace, making it possible for Minamoto no Sanetomo to become Shogun. His conflict with his father deepened, and in 1205, he took the opportunity of the pursuit and avenging of Hatakeyama Shigetada to defeat Tokimasa, his later wife Maki no Kata, and his son-in-law Hiraga Tomomasa, with Masako's help, and seized real power in the shogunate. He eventually moved to reduce the influence of powerful vassals, proposing a policy to amend the lifetime system for shugo positions, and came into conflict with Wada Yoshimori, the head of the Samurai-dokoro, and in 1213 he provoked the Wada clan to rise up in arms, but defeated them after a fierce battle. In this battle, with Sanetomo at his front, he gained the position of betto (chief administrator) of the Samurai-dokoro, and as the Shogun's guardian, his influence continued to grow, and in the fourth year he was promoted to Junior Fourth Rank, and the following year he was made Governor of Mutsu. However, opposition to Yoshitoki also grew strong, and just as Sanetomo began to refuse to bend to his will, Sanetomo was assassinated in January of Jokyu 1 (1219). The truth is unclear, but some say that Yoshitoki was the mastermind behind the assassination. Thus, he went to Kyoto himself as an emissary of Masako, who had gained control of the Shogunate, and after negotiating with the Retired Emperor Go-Toba, he welcomed Mitsutora (Fujiwara no Yoritsune) from the Kujo family as the Shogun's successor, wiped out the remaining members of the Minamoto clan, and advanced Shogunate politics by seizing real power under the "Nun Shogun" Masako. Seeing this internal strife within the shogunate, Emperor Gotoba planned to overthrow the shogunate, but when Yoshitoki and Masako heard about it, they sent a large army to Kyoto and defeated them. Not only did they take decisive action, such as exiling the three retired emperors, but they also established the Rokuhara Tandai, confiscated territories in the western provinces, and appointed jito (local stewards) to seize control over the entire country. Just as they had thus consolidated the shogunate's system, he suddenly died. Rumors spread that his second wife had been poisoned, and tensions were once again building within the shogunate, but Masako appointed Yasutoki as Yoshitoki's successor, and from then on, regency politics began in earnest. <References> Yasuda Motohisa, Hojo Yoshitoki

(Fumihiko Gomi)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：元仁1.6.13(1224.7.1)
生年：長寛1(1163)
鎌倉幕府の2代執権。父は時政,母は伊東入道の娘。早く源頼朝が伊東を追われて北条館に逃れてきたときに,建物を提供して頼朝に仕える。治承4(1180)年の頼朝挙兵後は石橋山の戦で兄の宗時が討死したことから家督となり,また頼朝の側近として行動した。平氏との合戦や奥州合戦で戦功をあげたのち,建久1(1190)年の頼朝の上洛では「家臣の最となす」とまで頼朝の信頼を得る。頼朝の死後は姉政子と連携をとりながら活動し,正治1(1199)年に源頼家を補佐する13人の御家人のひとりに選ばれ,建仁3(1203)年の比企氏の乱では,頼家の子一幡の館を襲撃し,政子の御所を襲った仁田忠常らを退けて,将軍源実朝の擁立を可能ならしめた。その後,父との対立が深まって,元久2(1205)年の畠山重忠の追討事件を契機にして,時政とその後妻牧の方,娘婿平賀朝雅を政子の協力を得て退け,幕府の実権を掌握した。やがて有力御家人の勢力削減に動き,守護職の終身制を改める方針を打ち出して,侍所の別当和田義盛と対立すると,建保1(1213)年に和田一族を挑発して挙兵させ,激戦の末に退けた。実朝を正面に立てたこの戦いで侍所の別当の地位を得ると,将軍の後見としてますます勢力は拡大し,4年には従四位下になり,翌年陸奥守となっている。しかし義時への反発もまた強く,実朝も意のままになることを拒み始めたところで,承久1(1219)年1月に実朝が暗殺される事件が起こった。真相は明らかでないが,義時が黒幕であったとする説もある。かくて幕府を掌握することになった政子の使者として自ら上洛し,後鳥羽上皇と交渉した末に九条家から三寅(藤原頼経)を将軍の後継者に迎え,残っている源氏一族を滅ぼし,「尼将軍」政子の下で実権を握る形で幕府政治を推進した。こうした幕府の内紛をみて後鳥羽上皇は倒幕を計画したが,それを知った義時・政子は大軍を上洛させて破ると,3上皇の配流など,断固たる処置をとったばかりか,六波羅探題を設置し,西国の所領を没収したり,地頭職を任じて全国的な支配権を握った。こうして幕府の体制固めを行ったところで急死。後妻の毒殺の噂が流れ,再び幕府は緊張するが,政子が泰時を義時の後継者に指名し,以後,執権政治が本格的に展開する。<参考文献>安田元久『北条義時』

(五味文彦)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

<<: Hojo Yoshimasa

>>: Hojo Yasutoki