Hojo Ujinao (1/2)The last head of the Kanto Hojo clan

At the beginning of the Sengoku period, one feudal lord was born in the Kanto region - the Hojo clan. Founded by Hojo Soun, the Hojo clan expanded its power throughout the Sengoku period and claimed dominance over the Kanto region. Hojo Ujinao was born as the son of the fourth Hojo Ujimasa and became the fifth head of the family. During Ujinao's time, the family was able to manage its territory in a stable manner, but was overthrown by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In this article, we will look at Hojo Ujinao, the last head of the Hojo clan.

What is the Hojo clan (Later Hojo clan)?

The Hojo clan was founded at the beginning of the Sengoku period.

Ise Shinkuro was a member of the Ise clan, who served as servants and stewards of the government office of the Muromachi shogunate. Shinkuro's older sister (Kitagawadono) married Imagawa Yoshitada, the guardian daimyo of Suruga Province, but when Yoshitada was killed in the Onin War, the Imagawa clan was plunged into civil war. Soun went to Suruga Province and supported his sister's son, Tatsuomaru (later Imagawa Ujichika, father of Imagawa Yoshimoto), and helped him become head of the family. For this achievement, Shinkuro was given territory in Suruga Province. With his territory in Suruga, Ise Shinkuro invaded Izu Province and established a foothold in the Kanto region, rising to prominence. This Ise Shinkuro would later be known as Hojo Soun.

Shinkuro's son, Ujitsuna, became the next head of the family. Ujitsuna changed his surname to "Hojo" because the surname "Ise" was unfamiliar to the samurai of the Kanto region. The Hojo surname was taken from the Hojo clan, who were regents of the Kamakura Shogunate, and was a familiar name to the samurai of the Kanto region. Incidentally, the regent Hojo clan of the Kamakura period was different from the Hojo clan of the Sengoku period, so the Hojo clan of the Sengoku period is also called the "Later Hojo clan" or the "Odawara Hojo clan."

During the time of Ujitsuna, who changed his surname to Hojo, Hojo expanded his influence from the Izu Peninsula to central Kanto, becoming a cause for concern for the various daimyo in Kanto. By the time of Ujitsuna's son, the third Hojo Ujiyasu, conflict became unavoidable. The various daimyo in Kanto formed an alliance and attacked Hojo Ujiyasu, but were defeated (the Night Battle of Kawagoe). Thus, during Ujiyasu's time, Hojo Ujiyasu became the leading daimyo in Kanto. However, around this time, Hojo Ujiyasu was in conflict with the neighboring Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Imagawa Yoshimoto of Suruga Province.

In the middle of the Sengoku period, the situation in the Kanto, Koshinetsu and Tokai regions revolved around the conflict between Hojo Ujiyasu, Takeda Shingen and Imagawa Yoshimoto.

The Tripartite Alliance of the Three Kingdoms and the Birth of Ujinao

The third head of the Hojo clan, Ujiyasu Hojo, continued to expand his power in the Kanto region. Takeda Shingen of the neighboring Kai province was engaged in skirmishes with the Imagawa and Hojo clans and was plotting an invasion of Shinano province.

Similarly, the Imagawa clan of neighboring Suruga Province was planning to invade Mikawa Province while engaged in skirmishes with the Hojo and Takeda.

The Hojo, Takeda, and Imagawa clans, each with their own goals, were constantly fighting each other, but they decided that conflict was futile and decided to form an alliance.

Tenbun 21 (1552): Imagawa Yoshimoto's daughter Reishoin gave birth to Takeda Yoshinobu, the son of Takeda Shingen.
Tenbun 22 (1553): Takeda Shingen's daughter, Oubai-in, became the son of Hojo Ujiyasu.
Tenbun 23 (1554): Lady Hayakawa, daughter of Hojo Ujiyasu, becomes the son of Imagawa Yoshimoto, Imagawa Ujizane
In this way, the three families established a marriage relationship (the Koshu-Suruga Triple Alliance).

Takeda Shingen's daughter, Oubaiin, who married Hojo Ujiyasu's son, Hojo Ujiyasu, gave birth to a boy, who became Hojo Ujinao (there are various theories about who Ujinao's birth mother was). Ujinao was born as a result of the Triple Alliance.

Coming of Age Ceremonies for Ujinao and his Father, Ujinao

The three clans Imagawa, Takeda, and Hojo formed the Triple Alliance.
Of the three, Imagawa Yoshimoto was the first to aim for Kyoto. However, in May 1560, he was defeated by Oda Nobunaga in Owari Province (Battle of Okehazama). After Yoshimoto's defeat, the Imagawa clan fell into disuse and was destroyed by his son, Ujizane.

The Takeda clan took control of Shinano Province and continued to fight with Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo on the border. In 1572, they aimed to go to Kyoto, but the following year, Takeda Shingen died of an illness on the way. After Shingen, Takeda Katsuyori took over, but the Takeda clan went into decline.

Unlike the two families that fell into decline, the Hojo family expanded its territory, reaching its greatest extent during the time of Hojo Ujimasa. Hojo Ujinao came of age around 1577, and on August 19, 1580, Hojo Ujimasa retired and Ujinao became head of the Hojo family. With Ujinao as head of the family, he shared responsibilities with Ujimasa and governed the Kanto region.

Conflict with the Tokugawa family and marriage to Princess Tokuhime

In March 1582, the Takeda clan was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga (the Koshu Conquest). Of the Takeda clan's territories, Kai Province was given to Nobunaga's vassal Kawajiri Hidetaka, and parts of Shinano Province and Kozuke Province were given to Takigawa Kazumasu, who proclaimed himself the guardian of the Kanto region. The Oda clan advanced into the Kanto region.

However, in June of the same year, Nobunaga was forced to commit suicide in the Honnoji Incident. With no backing, Kawajiri Hidetaka was killed by kokujin (small local lords), leaving Kai Province without anyone to rule. Seeing an opportunity, Hojo Ujinao, along with his uncle Hojo Ujikuni, attacked Kozuke Province, where Takigawa Kazumasu was, with 43,000 soldiers. The two armies clashed on June 18th, and the Hojo clan was victorious on the 19th. Takigawa Kazumasu was defeated and fled from Kozuke Province to Shinano Province. Following him, the Hojo clan invaded Shinano Province and took control of northern Shinano. Hojo Ujinao repelled the Oda clan, who had advanced into the Kanto region.

However, there was another feudal lord besides the Hojo clan who was also aiming for the Takeda clan's remaining territories of Kai and Shinano provinces - Tokugawa Ieyasu of the Tokai region. In August, he set up his headquarters in Kai province, and the two sides entered into a standoff. During this standoff, the former Takeda retainers who had submitted to the Hojo clan defected, and sporadic clashes occurred in various places, leaving the Hojo clan, who were superior in numbers, unable to act. In the end, the Tokugawa and Hojo clans made a peace agreement, and Tokugawa Ieyasu's second daughter, Tokuhime, was to marry Ujinao (Tensho Jingo War). The Hojo and Tokugawa clans became related by marriage.

The Night Before the Battle of Odawara

After forming an alliance with the Tokugawa clan in the west, Hojo Ujinao expanded his influence into the eastern provinces of Shimotsuke and Hitachi (present-day Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures).

However, after the death of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose to power and expanded his influence mainly in the Kinai region. He effectively gained control of the Mori clan in the Chugoku region, the Uesugi clan in the Hokuriku region, and the Tokugawa clan in the Tokai region, and issued the Sobu-Rei (prohibiting acts of aggression and private fighting between daimyo).

Ujinao was wary of the emergence of Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the center of power and worked to strengthen his military, while in 1588, with the mediation of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he dispatched Hojo Ujinori to serve Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

As the Toyotomi government was gradually established in this way, the territories of the feudal lords were also determined through negotiation. Among these disputed areas was Numata Castle in Kozuke Province (present-day Gunma Prefecture) and the surrounding territories. Numata Castle was a strategic location in northern Kanto, and was the subject of disputes between the Uesugi clan of Hokuriku, the Hojo clan of Kanto, and the Sanada clan of Shinano Province. The negotiations over Numata Castle were held under Hideyoshi, and it was decided that Numata Castle would be under the control of the Hojo clan, and one-third of the Numata territory, including Nago Castle, would become Sanada territory.

The Hojo clan dispatched Inomata Kuninori to Numata Castle as its castellan. This should have resolved the dispute in northern Kanto. However, Inomata Kuninori came up with a plan and seized Nagoromo Castle (the Nagoromo Castle Seizure Incident). The Sanada clan, whose castle had been taken, reported this to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who found it a violation of the So-Mu-Shi-Rei (General Peace Order). This marked the end of the relationship between the Toyotomi clan and the Hojo clan.

Battle of Odawara with Toyotomi Hideyoshi

In 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered feudal lords throughout Japan to defeat the Hojo clan. The Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans in the Tokai region, the Maeda, Uesugi, and Sanada clans in the Hokuriku region, and the Satake clan, who were vassals of the Toyotomi clan, in northern Kanto began their invasions. The Mori clan in the Chugoku region and the Chosokabe clan in Shikoku set out ships to surround Odawara from Sagami Bay.

Hojo Ujinao issued a mobilization order for the areas under Hojo control, and carried out repairs to Odawara Castle and other castles, as well as patrols around Hakone.
On March 1, Toyotomi Hideyoshi received a ceremonial sword from Emperor Goyozei on the pretext of subjugating the Hojo clan. Although the Emperor did not issue an imperial edict to subjugate the Hojo clan, Hideyoshi, acting as the de facto government army, led a large army and advanced into the Kanto region. Hojo castles throughout the Kanto region, including Yamanaka Castle in Hakone, were captured one after another, and in April Odawara Castle was under siege.

Odawara Castle was surrounded by a large army on land, and a secondary castle was built. A large fleet surrounded the castle at sea, making it impossible to escape. The Hojo clan's vassals realized that they were at a disadvantage, and Kasahara Masaharu, the eldest son of Matsuda Norihide, a senior vassal, tried to betray the Toyotomi clan. Matsuda Naohide, the second son, reported this to Hojo Ujinao, who punished Kasahara Masaharu and imprisoned his father Matsuda Norihide. The Hojo clan was crumbling from within.
After three months of siege, Hojo Ujinao decided to surrender.

Defeat and Death of Ujinao

On July 5, 1590, Hojo Ujinao, who had decided to surrender, went to the camp of Takigawa Taketoshi, a military commander under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and pleaded for the lives of his soldiers to be spared in exchange for his own suicide. However, Hideyoshi spared the life of Ujinao, who was also the son-in-law of Tokugawa Ieyasu. On the other hand, Ujinao's father Hojo Ujimasa, his uncle Hojo Ujiyasu, and senior retainers Doji Masashige and Matsuda Norihide were blamed for starting the war and ordered to commit seppuku.