|
Hojo Masako (1157-1225) was the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder and
first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japanese history. Her sons
Minamoto no Yoriie and Minamoto no Sanetomo were the second and third
shoguns, respectively, of the Kamakura shogunate.
After Yoritomo's death in 1199, Masako became a Buddhist Nun and along
with her father Hojo Tokimasa and brother Hojo Yoshitoki, usurped all
political and military power of the shogunate, relegating the position and
title of Seii Taishogun, or shogun, to a mere figurehead.
After the murder of the shogun Sanetomo in 1219, Masako and Yoshitoki
suppressed the Jokyu incident of 1221 and installed Kujo Yoritsune as a the
fourth shogun in 1226. Controlling the puppet shogun and overall shogunate
until her death, Masako became to be called the Ama Shogun or "Nun Shogun".
|
