Hojo Sadatoki
Hojo Sadatoki
Ninth Regent
1271-1311 · 享年 40歳
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Three Surprising Facts
Einin Debt Cancellation Decree — The Promise and Failure of Japan's First Major Debt Relief Edict
To relieve vassals impoverished after the Mongol invasions, Hojo Sadatoki issued the Einin Debt Cancellation Decree in 1297, ordering the free return of sold or mortgaged lands. This was Japan's first large-scale debt relief edict—a landmark measure. However, lenders responded by refusing to lend to vassals, paralyzing financial dealings and causing economic chaos. Sadatoki was effectively forced to reverse the decree the following year, damaging the shogunate's credibility. It also became a precedent for the tokusei uprisings of the Muromachi period and later.
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Full Biography
From birth to death
Born in 1271, son of the eighth regent Hojo Tokimune. When Tokimune died suddenly in 1284, he became the ninth regent at just 13. In the Shimotsuki Incident (1285) he joined with administrator Taira no Yoritsuna to annihilate the powerful vassal Adachi Yasumori's clan, tightening Toku autocracy. In 1293 he then eliminated Yoritsuna himself to seize total control (the Heizen'mon Rebellion). To aid vassals impoverished by the Mongol invasions, he issued the Einin Debt Cancellation Decree in 1297, ordering the free return of sold or mortgaged lands. However the decree paralyzed financial dealings, caused economic chaos, and did little to improve vassal lives, damaging the shogunate's credibility. In his final years he withdrew from politics into dissipation, dying in 1311 at age 41.
Personality
Aggressive in seizing power and unafraid to eliminate political rivals. Yet he also showed concern for the hardships of the vassals. In his later years he withdrew from politics and spent much time bedridden.
Historical Significance
The Einin Debt Cancellation Decree was Japan's first large-scale such decree and became a precedent for debt relief edicts of the later Muromachi period. The Shimotsuki Incident weakened the vassals' power and completed Hojo autocracy.
Family Tree
Family Tree
1
Tokimasa
1st Regent
Yoritomo
1st Shogun
Masako
Nun Shogun
2
Yoshitoki
3
Yasutoki
4
Tsunetoki
5
Tokiyori
8
Tokimune
9
Sadatoki
14
Takatoki
Tokiyuki
Nakasendai
Shigetoki
Gokurakuji
Sanetoki
Kanazawa
Tokifusa
1st Rensho
Related Historical Events
1285
Shimotsuki Incident
On the 17th day of the 11th month (shimotsuki) of 1285, Adachi Yasumori — the most prominent leader of the shogunate's vassals — was destroyed by Taira no Yoritsuna, the steward (uchi-kanrei) of the young regent Hōjō Sadatoki. Yasumori, father-in-law of the late Hōjō Tokimune, had led reform efforts known as the "Kōan Tokusei" and handled rewards for the defenders who had fought the Mongol invasions. After Tokimune's death in 1284, Yasumori clashed with Yoritsuna, who had risen as the confidant of the nine-year-old Sadatoki. Yoritsuna whispered to Sadatoki that Yasumori plotted to become shogun and launched a surprise attack on Yasumori's mansion at Matsuyagatsu in Kamakura. Yasumori, his son Munekage, and more than 500 kin and retainers were slain, and Yasumori's faction was purged across the country, with casualties said to reach thousands. The incident crippled the power of the gokenin houses and established the autocracy of the Tokusō (Hōjō main line) and its inner stewards — a fundamental reshaping of Kamakura governance.
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