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Kajiwarayama Park and Kajiwara Kagetoki's Last Stand: The 1200 Destruction of Yoritomo's Trusted Vassal in Suruga Province

In the first month of 1200, the expelled Kajiwara Kagetoki and his kinsmen were destroyed at Mt. Kajiwara in Suruga Province. This article examines how Kagetoki, one of the Thirteen Lords and Yoritomo's most trusted vassal, was defeated in the power struggle that followed Yoritomo's death.

| Samurai History

Contents

MOKUJI

1

Kajiwara Kagetoki: Yoritomo's Closest Vassal

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2

The Political Crisis After Yoritomo's Death

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3

The Final Stand at Mt. Kajiwara

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4

Historical Reassessment of Kagetoki

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5

Related Spots to Visit

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6

Frequently Asked Questions

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Minamoto no Yoritomo, Kagetoki's lord — after Yoritomo's death, the shield that had protected Kagetoki was gone, leading to his indictment and expulsion

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

At the summit of Mt. Kajiwara (281 meters) in Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka, stand the memorial stele and commemorative monument for the Kajiwara clan. On the twentieth day of the first month of 1200, Kajiwara Kagetoki, his sons Kagesue and Kageshige, and 33 kinsmen (23 of them combatants) — having been expelled from Kamakura — were driven back to this hilltop while traveling toward Kyoto and killed there.

Why did Kagetoki, one of the Thirteen Lords and Minamoto no Yoritomo’s most trusted vassal, meet so violent an end less than a year after Yoritomo’s death? This article examines the historical record.

Kajiwara Kagetoki: Yoritomo’s Closest Vassal

Kagetoki came from the warrior class of Sagami Province and was associated with Yoritomo even during the latter’s exile in Izu. He joined Yoritomo at the 1180 uprising and remained consistently his most trusted counselor. His role in reporting Yoshitsune’s insubordination to Yoritomo in 1185 later earned him the label “slanderer” — but in the context of his time, this was bureaucratic loyalty to his lord’s wishes, not independent malice.

Hojo Yoshitoki, one of the central figures among the 66 retainers who signed the petition demanding the indictment of Kajiwara Kagetoki

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Kagetoki’s dominant position within the shogunate rested entirely on Yoritomo’s absolute trust. While Yoritomo lived, his standing was unassailable. Many retainers resented his privileged access to power, but none could move against him with Yoritomo as his shield. The moment that shield was gone, Kagetoki’s position transformed overnight.

The Political Crisis After Yoritomo’s Death

Yoritomo died suddenly in the first month of 1199. The second shogun Yoriie nominally succeeded, while real decision-making shifted to the Council of Thirteen — of which Kagetoki was a member. In the tenth month of 1199, Kagetoki accused the retainer Yuki Tomomitsu of disloyal speech to Yoriie. This backfired catastrophically.

Hatakeyama Shigetada, one of the signatories of the petition against Kagetoki — himself later killed by conspiracy

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Sixty-six retainers — including Miura Yoshizumi, Wada Yoshimori, and Hatakeyama Shigetada — submitted a joint petition to Yoriie demanding Kagetoki’s indictment. This was an extraordinary event: a supermajority of the shogunate’s retainers mobilizing against a single individual. Yoriie could not resist the pressure. Kagetoki was stripped of his lands and expelled from Kamakura in the twelfth month of 1199.

The Final Stand at Mt. Kajiwara

Kagetoki traveled west through his former domain at Sagami Ichinomiya (present-day Hiratsuka), seeking to enter the service of Retired Emperor Go-Toba in Kyoto. On the twentieth day of the first month of 1200, his party was ambushed at Kitsunezaki in Suruga Province (present-day Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka) by roughly a thousand horsemen under the local warrior Kiccho Kojiro Tomokane.

Hojo Masako, who consolidated real power in the shogunate after Yoritomo's death — Kagetoki's expulsion was one step in this restructuring

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Kagetoki, his sons Kagesue, Kageshige, and Kagetokiyori fought back but were overwhelmed and retreated to the summit of Mt. Kajiwara, where they took their own lives or fell in battle. Of 33 clan members, 23 combatants perished, and the Kajiwara main line was extinguished. Kajiwarayama Park preserves the memory of this final stand, with a commemorative monument erected in 1990 for the 790th anniversary of Kagetoki’s death.

Historical Reassessment of Kagetoki

The “slanderer” label attached to Kagetoki in later tradition reflects the perspective of the retainers who expelled him, not objective historical assessment. His accusations against Yoshitsune and others were carried out in alignment with Yoritomo’s known wishes and were not treated as problematic while Yoritomo lived. Kagetoki’s tragedy was that of the bureaucratic loyalist who survives only as long as his patron survives — a structural vulnerability inherent in personal rule.

The approach to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, the spiritual heart of the shogunate where Kagetoki served alongside Yoritomo

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Related Spots to Visit

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Kajiwarayama Park (Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka) — Site of the Kajiwara clan’s last stand and memorial stele

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Tsurugaoka Hachimangu (Kamakura) — The spiritual heart of the shogunate where Kagetoki served Yoritomo

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Hatakeyama Shigetada Commemorative Park (Asahi Ward, Yokohama) — The later fate of Shigetada, one of Kagetoki’s accusers

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Monchujo Kyuseki (Kamakura) — Marker of the shogunate’s judicial system in which Kagetoki operated

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Kokokuji Temple (Izu no Kuni) — Center of Kamakura-period eastern Buddhism

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Kajiwara Kagetoki called a “slanderer”?

His reports to Yoritomo against Yoshitsune, Wada Yoshimori, and others formed the basis of this label. However, these reports were aligned with Yoritomo’s wishes at the time and were not treated as problematic while Yoritomo lived. The label reflects the perspective of those who expelled him after Yoritomo’s death.

What happened to the retainers who signed the petition against Kagetoki?

Many of them — Miura Yoshizumi, Wada Yoshimori, Hatakeyama Shigetada — were themselves later politically eliminated by the Hojo clan. The pattern of Kagetoki’s accusers being subsequently purged illuminates the dynamics of power in the early shogunate.

How do you access Kajiwarayama Park?

Approximately twenty minutes by taxi from JR Shimizu or Kusanagi Station, then about thirty minutes’ hike from the trailhead. The summit offers sweeping views of Suruga Bay and Mt. Fuji.

Did Kagetoki’s son Kagesue also die at Mt. Kajiwara?

Yes. Kagesue died together with his father on the twentieth day of the first month of 1200. The Kajiwara main line was extinguished entirely in this battle.

Last updated: May 22, 2026

── END ──

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. Kajiwarayama Park

Site where Kajiwara Kagetoki and 23 kinsmen fell in January 1200 in Suruga Province

2. Hatakeyama Shigetada Historic Park

National Historic Site marking where Hatakeyama Shigetada — 'the mirror of Bando warriors' — was ambushed and killed by Hojo Tokimasa's forces at Futamatagawa in 1205

3. Monchujo Site

A historic marker in Onarimachi for the Monchujo, the Kamakura shogunate's judicial board first headed by Miyoshi Yasunobu

A Rinzai Zen temple revered by Hojo Soun as his spiritual foundation for ruling Izu from Nirayama

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