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Hōjō Masako by Kikuchi Yōsai (菊池容斎)

Midaidokoro

Personal details
Born	1156
Died	16 August 1225(1225-08-16) (aged 69)
Spouse	Minamoto no Yoritomo
Relations	Hōjō Yoshitoki (brother) Kujō Yoritsune (grandson-in-law)
Children	Minamoto no Yoriie Minamoto no Sanetomo
Parent	Hōjō Tokimasa
Occupation	Buddhist nun, politician

In this Japanese name, the family name is Hōjō.

Hōjō Masako (北条政子, 1156 – August 16, 1225) was a powerful Japanese politician. She lived during the early Kamakura period. People at the time called her the "nun shogun" because she had so much influence.

Masako was the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo. He was the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate. She was also the mother of Minamoto no Yoriie and Minamoto no Sanetomo, who became the second and third shoguns. Her father, Hōjō Tokimasa, and her brother, Hōjō Yoshitoki, were both important leaders called shikken (regents) in the Kamakura government.

Early Life and Marriage (1156–1182)
The Genpei War and Its Outcome (1182–1199)
Yoritomo's Death and Family Conflicts (1199–1205)
Later Years and Influence (1205–1225)
In Fiction
See also

Early Life and Marriage (1156–1182)

Hōjō Masako was born in 1156. She was the oldest child of Hōjō Tokimasa. He was the leader of the powerful Hōjō clan in Izu Province. Her mother was Hōjō no Maki. Masako grew up during a time of war in Japan.

In Kyoto, the capital city, a big fight called the Hōgen Rebellion was happening. Two emperors were fighting over who should rule. The Hōjō family stayed out of this fight.

Later, in 1159, another war called the Heiji Rebellion took place. The Taira clan, led by Taira no Kiyomori, defeated the Minamoto clan. The Minamoto leader, Minamoto no Yoshitomo, was killed. His sons were either killed or sent away. One of his sons, Minamoto no Yoritomo, was sent to Izu. He was only thirteen years old. This was the area controlled by Masako's father, Hōjō Tokimasa. Masako was just a baby at this time.

Masako was the oldest of fifteen children. She learned skills like horseback riding and hunting. She often ate with the men of her family. Her brother, Hōjō Yoshitoki, was born in 1163. He would later become the second shikken of the Kamakura shogunate.

Around 1177, Masako married Yoritomo. Her father did not want them to marry. In 1179, they had their first daughter, Ō-Hime. As Yoritomo's wife, Masako became involved in the government. She grew to represent the power of the Hōjō clan.

In 1179, an imperial prince named Mochihito asked the Minamoto clan to fight against the Taira. The Taira had given the throne to a young emperor who was half Taira. Yoritomo, as the head of the Minamoto, agreed to fight. He had the full support of the Hōjō clan, including Masako. The Minamoto's main base was in Kamakura.

This started the Genpei War. It was the final big war between the Minamoto and Taira clans. In 1180, Masako's older brother, Munetoki, died in battle. Her brother Yoshitoki then became the heir of the Hōjō clan. In 1182, Masako and Yoritomo had their first son, Minamoto no Yoriie. He would be Yoritomo's heir.

The Genpei War and Its Outcome (1182–1199)

In 1183, Yoritomo's cousin, Minamoto no Yoshinaka, took control of Kyoto. This forced the Taira clan and the young Emperor Antoku to leave. Soon after, another emperor, Emperor Go-Toba, was put on the throne by the Minamoto. Yoritomo's half-brothers, Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Minamoto no Noriyori, then drove Yoshinaka out of Kyoto. They took the city for Yoritomo and the Hōjō clan.

By 1185, the Taira clan was completely defeated at the Battle of Dan-no-ura. Many Taira leaders were killed or drowned, including the young Emperor Antoku. Minamoto no Yoritomo was now the most powerful person in Japan. Hōjō Masako and her family had supported Yoritomo through all these events. She even rode with him during his military campaigns.

Yoritomo became very close to his wife's family, the Hōjō. He also had conflicts with his own half-brothers. This led to the arrest and execution of Yoshitsune and Noriyori. Yoritomo created new government roles called shugo and jitō. His father-in-law, Hōjō Tokimasa, got approval for these roles from the emperor in Kyoto. The capital of the new government was not in Kyoto. It stayed in Kamakura, away from the old imperial court.

In 1192, Emperor Go-Shirakawa named Yoritomo the shogun. This made him the most powerful man in Japan. He shared this power with Masako and the Hōjō clan. That same year, Masako and Yoritomo had another son, Minamoto no Sanetomo.

Yoritomo's Death and Family Conflicts (1199–1205)

In 1199, Minamoto no Yoritomo died. His son, Minamoto no Yoriie, became the next shogun. Yoriie was only eighteen years old. So, Hōjō Tokimasa, Masako's father, declared himself shikken, or regent, for Yoriie. Masako also had a strong position because her son was the shogun.

After her husband died, Masako shaved her head and became a Buddhist nun. This was a common practice for widows. However, she did not go to live in a monastery. She continued to be involved in politics. Masako, along with her father Tokimasa and her brother Yoshitoki, formed a council to advise the young shogun Yoriie.

Yoriie, the shogun, did not like his mother's family, the Hōjō. He preferred his wife's family, the Hiki clan, and his father-in-law, Hiki Yoshikazu. Masako found out about a plan that Yoshikazu and Yoriie were making. She told her father, Tokimasa. Tokimasa did not harm Yoriie, but he had Yoshikazu executed in 1203.

By this time, Shogun Yoriie was very sick. He retired to Izu Province. He died in 1204, likely due to his grandfather Tokimasa's actions. Masako was not aware of this plan. During the removal of the Hiki clan, Minamoto no Ichiman, Yoriie's oldest son and Masako's grandson, was also killed because he was part of the Hiki family.

In 1203, Masako's other son, Minamoto no Sanetomo, became the third shogun. Tokimasa remained his regent. Sanetomo was closer to his mother than his older brother had been. He was still a child when he became shogun.

However, Masako and Yoshitoki, the Hōjō heir, became angry with their father, Tokimasa. Their mother, Hōjō no Maki, died in 1204. Then, Tokimasa ordered the execution of Masako's sister's husband, Hatakeyama Shigetada. This happened even though Yoshitoki, Masako, and Tokifusa said he was innocent. By 1205, Hōjō Tokimasa was the most powerful man in Kamakura.

Masako heard rumors that Tokimasa planned to kill Sanetomo and replace him with someone else. So, Masako and Yoshitoki immediately told Tokimasa to step down and become a priest. If he refused, they would rebel. Hōjō Tokimasa gave up his power in 1205. He went to a monastery in Kamakura, where he became a monk. He died in 1215.

Later Years and Influence (1205–1225)

Hōjō Masako's tomb at the Jufuku-ji, Kamakura, Japan

After Tokimasa was removed in 1205, Minamoto no Sanetomo became shogun. The Hōjō clan still held strong power. Masako's brother, Hōjō Yoshitoki, became the shikken for Sanetomo. Masako herself remained very powerful. She was important in dealing with the imperial court. In 1218, the imperial government gave Masako a high court rank. She continued to work on creating an advisory council for the government.

During this time, Regent Yoshitoki sent Masako to visit the retired Emperor Go-Toba. She was to ask if Sanetomo could adopt one of the emperor's sons as his heir. The emperor refused this request.

In 1219, Sanetomo was killed by his nephew, Kugyō. Kugyō was the son of Sanetomo's murdered older brother, Yoriie. Sanetomo's death meant the end of the Minamoto family line of shoguns. Masako and Hōjō Yoshitoki chose Kujō Yoritsune to be the next shogun. Yoritsune was still a baby. This allowed Masako to act as the real ruler until her death. Yoritsune belonged to the Kujō family, which was part of the Fujiwara clan. His grandmother was a niece of the first shogun, Yoritomo. So, even though he wasn't a Hōjō, he was a figurehead for them.

In 1221, Emperor Go-Toba rebelled against the Hōjō clan. This war was called the Jōkyū War. People in Kamakura were very worried. But Masako is said to have calmed everyone with a famous speech. The Azuma Kagami, which is the official history of the Kamakura shogunate, says that Masako gathered the vassals (loyal followers) and had these words delivered to them:

“Listen carefully to my final words. Since the days when Yoritomo, the late Captain of the Right, put down the court’s enemies and founded the Kantō regime, the obligations you have incurred for offices, ranks, emoluments, and stipends have in their sum become higher than mountains and deeper than the sea. You must, I am sure, be eager to repay them. Because of the slander of traitors, an unrighteous imperial order has now been issued. Those of you who value your reputations will wish to kill Hideyasu [ja], Taneyoshi [ja], and the others at once in order to secure the patrimony of the three generations of shoguns. If any of you wish to join the ex-emperor, speak out.” — Azuma Kagami, the entry of Jōkyū 3rd year, 19th day of the 5th month [1221 A.D.]

Regent Yoshitoki and his oldest son, Hōjō Yasutoki, fought back against the rebellion. They took back Kyoto. Emperor Go-Toba was sent into exile. Masako continued to strengthen the government's power. She managed the relationships between the imperial and noble families. She also handled decisions and rewards after the war. In her time, women were seen as having authority. Masako's strong leadership helped the Hōjō clan control the Kamakura Shogunate until it fell in 1333.

Hōjō Masako died in 1225 when she was 69 years old. Because of her powerful role in government after becoming a nun, she was known as the ama-shōgun, or the "nun-shogun". The Azuma Kagami compared her to famous powerful women like Empress Lü of China and Empress Jingū of Japan.

In Fiction

Shima Iwashita played Hōjō Masako in Kusa Moeru, a 1979 Japanese TV series.
Masako is played by Eiko Koike in The 13 Lords of the Shogun, a 2022 Japanese TV series.