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The Five Later Hojo Generations: A Century of Kanto Rule
From Ise Moritoki (Hojo Soun) through Ujitsuna, Ujiyasu, Ujimasa, and Ujinao — five generations of the Later Hojo who ruled the Kanto region for a century from Odawara. Tracing the rise and fall of this sengoku daimyo family — separate from the Kamakura Hojo — from the Izu Incursion to the famous night battle of Kawagoe and the 1590 Odawara siege.
武
Author
Taketoki
| Samurai History
Contents
MOKUJI
一
Who Were the Later Hojo? Distinguishing Them from the Kamakura Hojo
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二
Hojo Soun — Pioneer of Gekokujo
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三
Later Hojo Civil Administration — the Four-Six Tax and Centralized Rule
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四
Ujiyasu and the Night Battle of Kawagoe (1546) — One of Japan's Three Great Surprise Attacks
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五
Ujiyasu's Zenith — Lord of the Eight Kanto Provinces, 2.4 Million Koku
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六
The Later Hojo Castle Network — Linking the Kanto by Fort and Signal Fire
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七
Shrine Patronage — Rebuilding Tsurugaoka and Devotion to Hakone
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八
The 1590 Odawara Campaign and the Fall of the Later Hojo
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九
Frequently Asked Questions
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When most people in Japan hear “Hojo,” they first think of the Kamakura regents — Hojo Masako or Hojo Yoshitoki. Yet the Hojo who dominated the Kanto region during the Sengoku period came from an entirely different lineage: the Later Hojo (Go-Hojo) of Odawara. From the Izu Incursion of 1493 to the surrender of Odawara Castle in 1590, the Later Hojo ruled the eight Kanto provinces across five generations — roughly a hundred years. Theirs is one of the most compelling stories in the age of warring states.
Portrait of Hojo Soun (Ise Moritoki), held at Odawara Castle. Founder of the Later Hojo and the first sengoku daimyo
Wikimedia Commons
Who Were the Later Hojo? Distinguishing Them from the Kamakura Hojo
Different Lineages — Ise Heishi vs. Kanmu Heishi
The Kamakura Hojo claimed descent from the Kanmu Heishi line of aristocratic Taira, while the Later Hojo came from the Ise Heishi line. The founder, Hojo Soun (Ise Moritoki, 1432–1519), was born into the Ise clan that served the Muromachi shogunate in Kyoto, took refuge with the Imagawa of Suruga, and then expanded into Izu, Sagami, and Musashi — the first true sengoku daimyo of the new age.
The Change of Name to Hojo
The second-generation lord Ujitsuna renamed the family from Ise to Hojo around 1523, in a deliberate political appropriation of the prestige of the Kamakura regents and a claim to legitimate rule of the Kanto.
Five Generations at a Glance
Generation
Person
Term
Key Achievement
1st
Hojo Soun (Ise Moritoki)
–1519
Izu Incursion, seizure of Odawara
2nd
Hojo Ujitsuna
1519–1541
Renamed family Hojo, took Edo Castle
3rd
Hojo Ujiyasu
1541–1571
Night Battle of Kawagoe, rule of eight provinces
4th
Hojo Ujimasa
1571–1590
Odawara conference, surrender
5th
Hojo Ujinao
1590
Surrender of Odawara, exile to Koyasan
Hojo Soun — Pioneer of Gekokujo
The Izu Incursion (1493) — the First Province Seizure by a Sengoku Daimyo
Soun went to Suruga thanks to his sister Kitagawa-dono, who married Imagawa Yoshitada, and after Yoshitada’s death mediated a succession dispute, receiving Kokokuji Castle. In 1493 (Meio 2) he struck against the Horigoe Kubo of Izu Province in a lightning campaign and seized the entire province — the Izu Incursion, generally considered the first provincial conquest by a sengoku daimyo in Japanese history.
Portrait of Hojo Ujitsuna (Odawara Castle). Second-generation lord who changed the family name from Ise to Hojo and consolidated rule of Sagami and Musashi
Wikimedia Commons
Entering Odawara and Pacifying Sagami
In 1495 Soun seized Odawara Castle from the Omori and made it the Later Hojo headquarters. In 1516 he destroyed the Miura clan at Arai Castle, completing the unification of Sagami Province. By his death he had secured the foundation of a daimyo domain covering Izu, Sagami, and southern Musashi. Odawara Castle remains the most important site in the Later Hojo story.
Prayer at Hakone Shrine and Religious Policy
According to tradition, Soun prayed at Hakone Shrine before the Izu Incursion. The Later Hojo patronized Hakone Shrine across all five generations as their family prayer temple, and treasures said to have been dedicated by Soun are still preserved there. This religious policy, reinforcing political legitimacy through sacred sponsorship, was continued by Ujitsuna with the rebuilding of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.
Later Hojo Civil Administration — the Four-Six Tax and Centralized Rule
The Landmark Low Tax: “Four for the Lord, Six for the People”
The most distinctive achievement of the Later Hojo lay not in their armies but in civil administration. From the time of Soun and Ujitsuna, a tax rate of “four for the lord, six for the people” (yon-ko roku-min) — remarkably low for the period — was applied across Later Hojo territory.
Daimyo
Tax Rate
Later Hojo
40% to lord, 60% to cultivators
Takeda Shingen’s domain
50–50
Uesugi Kenshin’s domain
70% to lord, 30% to cultivators
This policy stabilized the lives of cultivators and gave the Later Hojo their lasting reputation as “lords of good government.”
Centralized Direction through the Shu System
The territory was organized into military-administrative units called shu (Odawara-shu, Tamanawa-shu, Edo-shu, and so on), combining delegated regional governance with unified directives from the central castle of Odawara. Cadastral surveys recorded farm acreage and yields precisely and eliminated abusive taxation. When Tokugawa Ieyasu entered the Kanto after the 1590 surrender, he retained many former Later Hojo retainers and adopted much of their administrative system — a testament to its excellence.
Portrait of Hojo Ujiyasu (a copy held at Odawara Castle keep, the original at Sounji). Third-generation lord who became master of the Kanto after the Night Battle of Kawagoe
Wikimedia Commons
Ujiyasu and the Night Battle of Kawagoe (1546) — One of Japan’s Three Great Surprise Attacks
8,000 Troops Against 80,000-Plus
Under the third-generation lord Hojo Ujiyasu (1515–1571), the Later Hojo moved from consolidation to active expansion. In 1546 (Tenbun 15), a combined force of over 80,000 from the two Uesugi clans and the Koga Kubo besieged the key Later Hojo stronghold of Kawagoe Castle for some ten months. The castle commander, Hojo Tsunashige, held out with only 3,000 defenders.
A Midnight Raid Reshapes the Kanto
Ujiyasu rushed in with a main force of 8,000 and on a moonless April night launched a surprise attack on the allied headquarters. His forces defeated an enemy ten times their size, killed Ogigayatsu Uesugi Tomosada, drove out Yamanouchi Uesugi Norimasa, and shattered the prestige of the Koga Kubo. The Night Battle of Kawagoe is ranked among Japan’s three great surprise attacks alongside the battles of Itsukushima and Okehazama. In one night, the old Kanto order was overturned.
Odawara Castle, the headquarters of the Five Generations of the Later Hojo for a century — the foremost impregnable fortress of the Kanto
Wikimedia Commons
Ujiyasu’s Zenith — Lord of the Eight Kanto Provinces, 2.4 Million Koku
The 1559 Domain Register
After Kawagoe, Ujiyasu rapidly extended his power into Kozuke, Shimosa, Awa, and Hitachi. The Hojo Shi Shoryo Yakucho compiled in 1559 (Eiroku 2) recorded his territory’s total productive capacity at some 2.4 million koku — far above contemporary rivals — confirming the Later Hojo as the de facto lord of the eight Kanto provinces.
The great dry moat of Odawara Castle, the largest surviving feature of the Later Hojo period, laid out under Ujiyasu
Wikimedia Commons
The Tripartite Alliance and Repelling Uesugi Kenshin
Ujiyasu also showed a keen diplomatic hand. In 1554 he concluded the Tripartite Alliance of Kai, Sagami, and Suruga (Ko-So-Sun) with Takeda Shingen and Imagawa Yoshimoto, securing his rear. In 1561, Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo besieged Odawara with over 100,000 troops, but the castle’s defenses held, forcing Kenshin to retreat. Ujiyasu died in 1571 at age 56, reportedly advising on his deathbed: “Make peace with the Takeda; fight the Uesugi.”
The Later Hojo Castle Network — Linking the Kanto by Fort and Signal Fire
The Great Outer Perimeter (Soto-gamae) of Odawara
Sustaining Later Hojo dominance was a network of castles spread across the Kanto. At its peak, the headquarters at Odawara was a vast fortress with a soto-gamae (outer perimeter) of nearly 9 kilometers. The great dry moats laid out under Ujiyasu still convey the original scale and are designated a National Historic Site.
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu in Kamakura, which the second-generation Ujitsuna grandly rebuilt between 1532 and 1540 as the symbol of Later Hojo rule of the Kanto
Wikimedia Commons
The Castle Cluster in Kanagawa and Tokyo
Castle
Location
Builder
Role
Tamanawa Castle
Kamakura
Hojo Soun (1513)
Key to eastern Sagami
Misaki Castle
Miura
Later Hojo
Control of Miura naval forces
Hachioji Castle
Hachioji, Tokyo
Hojo Ujiteru
Key to western Musashi
Kawagoe Castle
Kawagoe, Saitama
Ota Dokan/Later Hojo
Key to northern Musashi
Hachioji Castle fell to the forces of Uesugi Kagekatsu and Maeda Toshiie in the 1590 siege; the retainers and women and children of Ujiteru perished there, and it is preserved today as a National Historic Site of tragic memory. These castles were linked by signal-fire networks and highways developed under Later Hojo rule.
Hakone Shrine in Kanagawa, deeply venerated as the prayer-temple of the Later Hojo from the time of Soun's Izu Incursion
Wikimedia Commons
Shrine Patronage — Rebuilding Tsurugaoka and Devotion to Hakone
Ujitsuna’s Great Rebuilding of Tsurugaoka (1532–1540)
The Later Hojo were not merely a military regime; they devoted considerable energy to establishing religious authority commensurate with their rule of the Kanto. Ujitsuna’s great rebuilding of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu — founded by Minamoto no Yoritomo and long venerated as the chief tutelary shrine of the Kanto warrior houses — was an extraordinary assertion of Hojo legitimacy. The work ran from 1532 to 1540 at enormous cost. The associated Tamanawa Hachimangu in Kamakura also reflects this religious patronage strategy.
The Hojo Clan Residence in Izu (Nirayama)
The Hojo clan residence site in Izunokuni City preserves the remnants of Soun’s base in the Nirayama area of Izu Province — the very starting point of the Later Hojo domain. Earthwork embankments and moat traces remain, and the site communicates the humble origins of the dynasty that would come to rule the entire Kanto.
The Mitsu-uroko (three-scales) crest of the Later Hojo, which still adorns the official emblem of Odawara City
Wikimedia Commons
The 1590 Odawara Campaign and the Fall of the Later Hojo
Hideyoshi’s 220,000-Strong Army
In 1590 (Tensho 18), as the final phase of national unification, Toyotomi Hideyoshi dispatched an army of more than 220,000 by land and sea against the Later Hojo. The Later Hojo adopted a defensive strategy, deploying troops to satellite castles across the Kanto with the main force at Odawara. Hideyoshi enclosed Odawara within earthworks and outer perimeters, prosecuting a siege by starvation.
The “Odawara Conference” and Surrender
After about three months under siege and with supplies cut off, debate within Odawara over war or peace grew fractious — the famous “Odawara conference” (Odawara hyojo), now proverbial for indecisive deliberation. On July 5, the fifth-generation lord Ujinao surrendered. His father Ujimasa and uncle Ujiteru were ordered to commit ritual suicide; Ujinao was exiled to Mount Koya and died the following year. The Later Hojo family crest, the Mitsu-uroko (three scales), is still the official emblem of Odawara City, carried with civic pride to this day. The grave of Ujimasa, Hojo Ujimasa-haka, stands near Odawara Castle as a quiet memorial to the last days of the family.
Visiting the Sites — a Practical Guide
The legacy of a hundred years of Later Hojo rule survives in numerous sites across the Kanto. Odawara Castle preserves Hojo-era earthworks in the Honmaru and the great dry moats, still dramatic. Tamanawa Castle and Misaki Castle in Kanagawa, Hachioji Castle in Tokyo, and the Hojo clan residence in Izunokuni together form a circuit of Later Hojo heritage connecting Kanagawa, Tokyo, and Izu. Use this app to open each site’s page for access details, and record each visit with the stamp feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Later Hojo related to the Kamakura Hojo by blood?
No blood relationship exists. The Kamakura Hojo claimed descent from the Kanmu Heishi Taira line; the Later Hojo originated in the Ise clan of the Ise Heishi line. Soun adopted the Hojo surname for political prestige, not because of any genealogical connection.
What does “Odawara conference” mean today?
The phrase refers to the prolonged, indecisive debate among senior retainers inside Odawara Castle during the 1590 siege over whether to surrender or fight on. In modern usage, “Odawara conference” has become a set expression for any meeting that goes on too long without reaching a decision.
Why are the Later Hojo called “lords of good government”?
The primary reason is the “four for the lord, six for the people” tax rate, far lower than contemporary rivals, combined with accurate cadastral surveys that eliminated corrupt taxation. The trust of the Kanto cultivators ran so deep that Tokugawa Ieyasu retained much of the Later Hojo administrative structure after the conquest.
Why is the Night Battle of Kawagoe one of the Three Great Surprise Attacks?
The feat of defeating an enemy force ten times the size with a moonlit surprise attack, and in doing so overturning the entire order of power in the Kanto in a single night, places it alongside the battles of Itsukushima (Mori Motonari) and Okehazama (Oda Nobunaga) as one of the most dramatic reversals in Japanese military history.
Where is Hachioji Castle?
Hachioji Castle (Hachioji City, Tokyo) is a National Historic Site accessible by bus from JR Takao Station or Keio Takao-guchi Station. It is known both for the tragedy of 1590 and as one of the most atmospheric castle ruins in the Kanto, set in deep mountain forest.
最終更新: 2026年4月25日
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武
Author
Taketoki（たけとき）
Samurai History
Toku editorial team — samurai history. Insists on primary sources and castle-layout diagrams, walking battlefields from Yoritomo's Izu exile sites to the late-Edo battlegrounds.
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Visit Related Places
History truly comes alive when you visit in person. Choose your next destination from the related sites and pilgrimage courses below.
1. Odawara Castle
Stronghold of five generations of Hojo — Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 1590 siege here ended the Sengoku era and unified Japan
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2. Tamanawa Castle
The 'impregnable' mountain castle built by Hojo Soun in 1512 — the last Hojo stronghold to surrender in 1590
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M
3. Misaki Castle
The final stronghold of the Miura clan — in 1516, Miura Dosun left his celebrated death poem and took his own life here, ending 500 years of clan history at this naval fortress
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H
4. Hachioji Castle
One of Japan's 100 Famous Castles — massive earthworks and stone walls from Hojo Ujiteru's impregnable mountain fortress
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O
5. Ofuna Tamanawa Kubizuka
A remnant of Tamanawa Castle built by Hojo Soun in 1512, with a memorial mound for fallen warriors still drawing local devotion as a rare Sengoku-era historic site near Ofuna.
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6. Hojo Clan Residence Ruins
The birthplace of Hojo Tokimasa, Masako, and Yoshitoki — the founding site of the clan that built the Kamakura shogunate
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H
7. Hojo Ujimasa & Ujiteru Graves
The graves of Hojo Ujimasa and Ujiteru — the last Hojo lords who took their own lives after Hideyoshi's 1590 siege
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K
8. Kawagoe Castle
A hilltop fortress founded by Ota Dokan in 1457, with one of Japan's rarest surviving castle palace halls
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