Hōjō Yasutoki

Hōjō Yasutoki (北条 泰時; 1183 – July 14, 1242) was the third shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. He strengthened the political system of the Hōjō regency.

He was the eldest son of second shikken Yoshitoki. According to Azuma Kagami, he was liked by the first Shogun, Minamoto no Yoritomo. In 1218 he became the chief (bettō) of the military office (samurai dokoro).

In the Jōkyū War of 1221, he led shogunate forces against the imperial court in Kyoto.^[1] 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 (評定), the council system of the shogunate. In 1232 he promuglated the Goseibai Shikimoku, the legal code of the shogunate. He has highly praised for his impartial justice.

He died in 1242. His grandson Tsunetoki succeeded him to the post of shikken.

References

1. Sansom, George (1958). A History of Japan to 1334. Stanford University Press. p. 380-382. ISBN 0804705232.

• Deal, William E. (2007). Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press US. pp. 29–30. ISBN 0-19-533126-5.