Hōjō · Later Hōjō
Hōjō Ujiyasu
“The Lion of Sagami”
Born the son of Hōjō Ujitsuna, he rode into battle beside his father from boyhood. Every wound he took in his life is said to have been on the front of his body, and his valour earned him the name "the Lion of Sagami." Soon after his succession, when the Ōgigayatsu and Yamanouchi Uesugi and the Koga kubō joined forces and descended on Kawagoe Castle, Ujiyasu lulled them with humble peace overtures and feigned retreats, then in Tenbun 15 launched a night attack with 8,000 men against 80,000 and destroyed them (the night battle of Kawagoe). He went on to extend Hōjō power across the Kantō, weathered repeated invasions by Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen, and secured his rear with the three-way alliance with the Takeda and Imagawa. Attentive to government as well, with land surveys, tax reform and a post-horse system, he built the Later Hōjō to their height.
- Epithet
- “The Lion of Sagami”
- Rank / office
- Governor of Sagami
- Domain / base
- Sagami (Odawara Castle)
- Banner / crest
- Three scales
- Side
- Hōjō
- Lived
- 1515–1571 (aged 57)
Life
- Tenbun 10 Succession Became head of the Later Hōjō on the death of his father Ujitsuna.
- Tenbun 15 Night Battle of Kawagoe Beat an allied army of 80,000 with 8,000 in a night attack, destroyed the Ōgigayatsu Uesugi and seized the initiative in the Kantō.
- Tenbun 23 The Three-Way Alliance Allied with the Takeda and Imagawa to remove any threat from behind.
- Eiroku 4 Holding Odawara Repelled the siege of Odawara by Uesugi Kenshin's great army from behind his strong walls.
- Genki 2 Death at Odawara Built the Later Hōjō to their zenith and died at Odawara Castle.
Battles in this archive1 battles
Related sites
- Odawara Castle ruins (Odawara, Kanagawa)
- Sōun-ji (Hakone, Kanagawa)