Hōjō Masako

Hōjō Masako (北条 政子^?, 1156 – August 16, 1225) was a female political leader, and the eldest daughter of Hōjō Tokimasa (the first shikken, or regent, of the Kamakura shogunate) by his wife Hōjō no Maki. She was the sister of Hōjō Yoshitoki, and was married to Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura period. She was also the mother of O-Hime, Minamoto no Yoriie and Minamoto no Sanetomo, the second and third shoguns.

Hōjō Masako was born in 1156, daughter of Hōjō Tokimasa, leader of the influential Hōjō clan of Izu province, and his wife, Hōjō no Maki. Masako's parents were still in their teens, and she was raised by many ladies-in-waiting and nannies. Masako was born into a world of war and strife. In Kyoto, the capital of Japan, the Hōgen Rebellion was in full swing, where Cloistered Emperor Toba and Emperor Sutoku warred over who would be the next emperor. The Hōjō family wisely chose to stay out of the rebellion, even though the Hōjō family, Masako's lineage, was descended from the Taira clan and thus was related to the imperial family.

During the Heiji Rebellion, fought in 1159, the Taira clan, under Taira no Kiyomori, with the support of Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa defeated the Minamoto clan, under the leadership of Minamoto no Yoshitomo. Yoshitomo was executed, while his sons and daughters were either executed or sent to nunneries. Only three of his sons survived. Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Minamoto no Noriyori were forced into priesthood, while Minamoto no Yoritomo, at the age of thirteen, was spared and sent to exile in Izu, the domain of Hōjō Tokimasa. While this was happening, Masako was barely an infant. The Taira under Kiyomori now were in successful control of Japan.

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