Bloodline is said to have appeared on the 21st day and told him that if he committed atrocities his family would perish, then she transformed into a dragon and disappeared into the sea. This painting depicts Tokimasa bowing his head and placing the three scales left by the snake on a folding fan. After this, the Hojo family adopted the three scales as their family
mon. The Hōjō are alleged to have been an offshoot of the
Taira of the
Kanmu branch, originating in
Izu Province. On the other hand, modern theories question whether the Hōjō clan was really descended from the Taira clan. They gained power by supporting the defeat of the Taira by supporting the warlord
Minamoto no Yoritomo in the
Genpei War through both military assistance and by marriage to his blood relatives. Yet, when Yoritomo died eighteen years later, the Hōjō usurped power from his family.
Rise to power Hōjō Tokimasa helped
Minamoto no Yoritomo, a son-in-law, defeat the forces of the
Taira to become Japan's first
shōgun.
Hōjō Masako, Tokimasa's daughter, was married to Yoritomo. After the death of Yoritomo, Tokimasa appointed himself as
shikken (regent) to the former
shōgun's young son, thus effectively transferring control of the shogunate to his clan permanently. Consequently, the shōguns became puppets and hostages of the Hōjō.
Early events The
Imperial court at Kyoto resented the decline in its authority during the
Kamakura shogunate, while the clan, in turn, came to despise the weak
Emperor Go-Toba. In 1221, the
Jōkyū War broke out between forces loyal to the recently retired Go-Toba and the second regent
Hōjō Yoshitoki. The Hōjō forces easily won the war; the imperial court was brought under the direct control of the shogunate, while the emperor was exiled "to a remote island off western Japan." The
shōguns constables were granted extensive civil powers, and the court was obliged to seek the
shōguns approval for all of its actions. Although deprived of political power, the court was permitted to maintain its estates in
Kyoto since it conveyed needed legitimacy on the otherwise unlawful rule of the shogunate. Several significant administrative achievements were made during the Hōjō regency. In 1225 the third regent,
Hōjō Yasutoki, established the
Hyōjōsho (Council of State), which ended the threat of civil war by enabling potential rivals of the Hōjō to share in the shogunate's decision-making and political power. The Hōjō regent presided over the council, which was a successful form of
collective leadership. The adoption of Japan's first military code of law — the
Goseibai Shikimoku — in 1232 reflected the profound transition from an era of direct Imperial rule to the rule of the
shōgun. While legal practices in Kyoto were still based on 500-year-old
Confucian principles, the new code was a highly legalistic document that stressed the duties of stewards and constables, provided means for settling land disputes, and established rules governing
inheritances. It was clear and concise, stipulated punishments for violators of its conditions, and remained in effect for the next 635 years. ==List of Hōjō
Shikken==