Hojo Masako (1157-1225) was the most powerful figure in the early Kamakura shogunate, yet as a mother she endured relentless tragedy. As the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo she became the linchpin of the warrior government, and after his death in 1199 she took Buddhist vows but kept real power — earning the title ‘Nun Shogun.’ Her eldest son Yoriie, the second shogun, favored his wife’s Hiki kin; after the 1203 Hiki Rebellion, Masako and her father had him stripped of office and confined to Shuzenji in Izu, where he was assassinated in 1204 at 23. Her second son Sanetomo, the poet third shogun, was cut down at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in 1219 by Yoriie’s son Kugyo, ending the Minamoto shogunal line after just three generations. Even so, Masako did not retire: in the 1221 Jokyu War she rallied the wavering warriors with a famous speech recalling Yoritomo’s favor, securing the shogunate’s victory. She died in 1225 at 69. Visit Tsurugaoka Hachimangu (where Sanetomo fell), Jufukuji (her grave), and Shuzenji (where Yoriie died) to trace her story.