Hōjō Ujiyasu

Hōjō Ujiyasu (北条 氏康, 1515 – October 21, 1571) was the son of Hōjō Ujitsuna (北条 氏綱) and a daimyō (warlord) of the Odawara Hōjō clan. His only known wife was Imagawa Yoshimoto's sister, Zuikei-in.

Hōjō Ujiyasu
Hōjō Ujiyasu in the painting
Native name
北条 氏康
Nickname(s)Lion of Sagami
Born1515
DiedOctober 21, 1571(1571-10-21) (aged 55–56)
Odawara Castle, Sagami Province, Japan
Allegiance Later Hōjō clan
RankDaimyō (warlord)
Battles/wars
RelationsHōjō Ujitsuna (father)
Yōjuin-dono (mother)
In this Japanese name, the family name is Hōjō.

Early years and rise

His childhood name was Chiyomaru (千代丸). He fought his first battle when he was fifteen years old, facing Uesugi Tomooki of the Ōgigayatsu Uesugi clan (扇谷上杉家) at the Battle of Ozawahara in 1530. Upon his father's death in 1541, a number of the Hōjō's enemies sought to take advantage of the opportunity to seize major Hōjō strongholds. Two Uesugi factions united with the Koga Kubo cause and attacked Kawagoe in 1542 in a night engagement still celebrated in Japanese military annals. "The result was the complete defeat of the Uesugi forces and the Koga contingent. From that date the Go-Hōjō ("Later-Hōjō") as they were called, went on to further triumphs, beginning with the destruction of the Uesugi family."[1]

Conflict with Uesugi

Ōgigayatsu Tomosada, the eldest legitimate son of Uesugi Tomooki, tried unsuccessfully to take Edo Castle (江戸城) following his father's death in 1537. In 1545, Tomosada allied himself with Ashikaga Haruuji (足利 晴氏) and Uesugi Norimasa (上杉 憲政) of Yamauchi Uesugi clan (山内上杉家) and besieged Kawagoe Castle (Siege of Kawagoe (1545)).[2] Hōjō Tsunashige (北条 綱成), the stepson of Ujiyasu's brother Tamemasa (北条 為昌) and son-in-law of Ujitsuna, was outnumbered 3,000 to allegedly 80,000, and Ujiyasu led a relief force of 8,000 soldiers. Ujiyasu slipped some samurai past the enemy lines to inform Tsunashige of the enemy's approach, and made use of ninja to learn of the enemy's strategy and attitude. Using this intelligence, he led a night attack against the Ashikaga-Uesugi forces which is now said to be the one of the most notable examples of night fighting in samurai history. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Hōjō army defeated the besiegers because, under Ujiyasu's orders, they were not bulked down by heavy armor, and were not slowed by seeking to take heads.

This victory marked the decisive turning point in the struggle for the Kanto, and in the following years, proved the end of the Ōgigayatsu Uesugi line and destroyed the prestige of Norimasa of the Yamanouchi Uesugi clan as the Governor-General of Kantō region (Kantō kanrei (関東管領)).

In 1551, Ujiyasu defeated Uesugi Norimasa at Hirai Castle (平井城) and forced him to flee to Echigo, where he was taken into the protective custody of his retainer Nagao Kagetora, the later day Uesugi Kenshin and heir to Norimasa by adoption. In 1561, Kenshin assumed the post of Kantō kanrei and in the same year, Kenshin besieged Odawara Castle (小田原城), Hōjō's home castle, and burned down the town of Odawara (Siege of Odawara (1561)). Kenshin then withdrew after two months.

Hōjō expansion

Allied with Takeda Shingen, a combined army of Hōjō and Takeda regained Musashi-Matsuyama Castle (武蔵松山城[3]) in Musashi Province against Uesugi Norikatsu (上杉憲勝) in 1563 (Siege of Musashi-Matsuyama (1563)).[2]:216

Hōjō Ujiyasu expanded the Hōjō territory, which now covered five provinces, and managed and maintained what his father and grandfather had held. He took Kōnodai in Shimōsa Province in 1564 following a battle against Satomi Yoshihiro (里見 義弘) (Battle of Kōnodai (1564)). Following this victory, Ujiyasu pushed on into Shimosa Province and Kazusa Province, but was never able to destroy the Satomi clan, who remained a thorn in the Hôjô's side right up until 1590.

Ujiyasu's eastern moves brought the Hôjô into conflict with the Satake clan of Hitachi Province and to the limit of their expansion. After second battle of Konodai (1564), the Hôjô largely contented themselves with ruling the vast tracts of land earned through 60 years of war and toil.

Conflict with Takeda

Towards the end of his life he saw the first major conflicts between his own clan and Takeda Shingen (武田 信玄), who would become one of the greatest warlords of the period. As a response to Hōjō's intervention in his invasion of Suruga Province, Shingen came into Musashi Province from his home province of Kai, attacking Takiyama (滝山城) and Hachigata (鉢形城) (Siege of Hachigata (1568)) Castles, where Ujiyasu's sons repulsed them. Despite the intact castles behind him, Shingen pressed on to the Hōjō central home castle of Odawara, burning the castle town and withdrawing after three days (Siege of Odawara (1569)). As the forces of Takeda Shingen withdrew from repeated failed sieges of Odawara Castle, two of Ujiyasu's seven sons, the brothers Ujiteru and Ujikuni, attacked him in the pass of Mimase (Battle of Mimasetoge), ending the first of the Takeda campaigns against the Hōjō. Later in the year, Shingen's son Takeda Katsuyori (武田 勝頼) led a successful siege against the Hojo Kanbara Castle (蒲原城) in Suruga province (Siege of Kanbara). Takeda Shingen also laid siege to other Hōjō holdings in the surrounding provinces, including Fukazawa castle in Suruga province which was taken in 1571 (Siege of Fukazawa).

Death

Subsequently, Ujiyasu managed to make peace with Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen, the most powerful adversaries of Hōjō Ujiyasu, letting his seventh son Hōjō Saburō be adopted by childless Kenshin and accepting the fait accompli of Shingen's reign over Suruga. To cement the ties of Takeda-Imagawa-Hojo, Ujiyasu also gave his two daughters to those two clans; Lady Hayakawa wed to Imagawa Ujizane, while Lady Hojo (Hojo Masako) wed to Takeda Katsuyori becoming his second wife. Ujiyasu died in 1571, passing on the Hōjō domains to his eldest son Ujimasa (北条 氏政) in a relatively favourable situation.

Family
  • Father: Hojo Ujitsuna
  • Mother: Yojuin-dono
  • Wife: Zuikein (d.1590)
  • Adopted brother: Hōjō Tsunashige
  • Concubines:
    • sister of Katsurayama Yasumitsu
    • Matsuda-dono
  • Children:
    • Hojo Shinkuro (1537-1552) by Zuikein
    • Lady Hayakawa
    • Lady Hojo (1564-1582) married Takeda Katsuyori by Matsuda-dono
    • Hōjō Ujimasa by Zuikein
    • Jokoin married Ashikaga Yoshiuji and gave birth to Ashikaga Ujinohime.
    • Nanamagari-dono married Hojo Ujishige
    • Hōjō Ujiteru by Zuikein
    • Chorin’in married Ota Ujisuke
    • Hōjō Ujikuni by Zuikein
    • Ozaki-dono married Chiba Chikatane
    • Hōjō Ujinori by Zuikein
    • Tanseikuji-dono married Ogasawara Yasuhiro
    • Hōjō Ujitada (d.1593)
    • Kikuhime married Satomi Yoshiyori
    • Hōjō Ujimitsu (d.1590)
    • daughter married Chiba Toshitane
    • Uesugi Kagetora by sister of Katsurayama Yasumitsu
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References
  1. Sansom, George (1961). A History of Japan, 1334–1615. Stanford University Press. p. 245. ISBN 0804705259.
  2. Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. Cassell & Co. p. 211. ISBN 1854095234.
  3. Also known simply as 松山城.

Further reading
  • Turnbull, Stephen (2002). War in Japan: 1467-1615, Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
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