He was the eldest son of second
shikken Hōjō Yoshitoki. According to
Azuma Kagami, he was liked by the first
shōgun,
Minamoto no Yoritomo. In 1218, he became the chief (
bettō) of the Board of Retainers (
samurai-dokoro). In the
Jōkyū War of 1221, he led shogunate forces against the
imperial court in Kyoto. After his victory, he remained in Kyoto and set up the
Rokuhara Tandai. Yasutoki and his uncle
Tokifusa became the first
tandai. When his father Yoshitoki and aunt
Hōjō Masako died, he succeeded to become
shikken in 1224. He installed Hōjō Tokifusa as the first
rensho. In 1225 he created the Hyōjō (), the council system of the shogunate. In 1232 he promulgated the
Goseibai Shikimoku, the legal code of the shogunate. He was highly praised for his impartial justice. In 1242, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk and took the
Dharma name '''Jōshōbō Kan'a''' (上聖房観阿). He died in the same year. His grandson
Tsunetoki succeeded him to the post of
shikken. == References ==