# 【67-3】生まれる前から後継者！北条得宗家のサラブレッドが握る鎌倉の実権【COTEN RADIO モンゴル帝国襲来編3】

- Show: 歴史を面白く学ぶコテンラジオ （COTEN RADIO）
- Published: 2026-09-21
- Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/1450522865_ce295ee031c3.html
- Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/8c2088c/podcast/play/125386898/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-8-8%2Fef1048ea-2995-1b36-618a-d4e8cc408eef.mp3
- Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary.

The scene shifts away from the Mongol Empire and back to Kamakura shogunate politics, focusing on Tokiyori's son Tokimune, who would succeed him. The episode traces how Tokimune was carefully groomed as heir even before his birth in 1251, his whirlwind rise through official posts as a teenager, and his eventual move to concentrate power by ousting the shogun himself.

## What this episode answers

### What kind of lineage and pedigree was Hojo Tokimune born into?

His father was Hojo Tokiyori and his mother was a daughter of Hojo Shigetoki, who served as Tokiyori's rensho, so he had Hojo blood on both sides. The lineage was so concentrated that Higuchi remarked in astonishment that it made him wonder "if that was even okay."

### Why did Tokimune outrank his older brother in status despite being born later?

The article does not give an explicit reason beyond noting the fact of family rank; it only shows the result: Tokimune's common name was "Sasaki Taro" (eldest son), while his older brother Tokisuke, born to the principal wife, became "Saburo," with the names Jiro, Goro, and Rokuro deliberately skipped to make the rank difference explicit.

### What posts did Tokimune hold as a teenager, and what feats of valor became associated with him?

As a teenager he rose to bettō of the Samurai-dokoro and bettō of the Mandokoro. At a kasagake mounted archery event held the day after his wedding, he missed his first shot but hit the target on his second, prompting Tokiyori to praise him as "a vessel fit to inherit our house."

### After his father Tokiyori's sudden death at 37, how did the succession unfold?

Tokiyori died young at 37 when Tokimune was only 14, so in an unusual arrangement his relative and rensho Hojo Masamura became shikken while Tokimune took the rensho post, reversing the normal order. At 15 Tokimune was appointed Sagami no kami, and three years later at 18 to 19 he duly became shikken, with Masamura returning to the rensho post.

### Why did Tokimune go on to overhaul the existing institutions of hyojoshu, hikitsuke, and the shogunate itself?

After becoming shikken he sought to disperse power, ending fixed membership on the hyojoshu in favor of rotation and abolishing the hikitsuke, which had come to function as a rung on the promotion ladder within the Hojo clan rather than its original purpose of speeding up judicial proceedings. Fukai points to this as a sign the organization was still "personalistic" and not yet mature as an institution, and Tokimune went further by ousting the shogun Prince Munetaka to concentrate power.

## Article

## A thoroughbred before birth
As Hojo Tokiyori consolidated power by eliminating rival forces one after another, his son (the future Hojo Tokimune) was born on May 15, 1251. The mother was a daughter of Hojo Shigetoki, who served as Tokiyori's rensho (co-signer). With Hojo blood on both the father's and mother's sides, the lineage was so concentrated that Higuchi remarked in astonishment that it made him wonder "if that was even okay." Once the pregnancy became known, prayers for a safe birth were ordered: Buddhist images were commissioned, elaborate rites were held to pray for health and long life, and the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra was read through in full — the full weight of religious ritual mobilized around the birth. At the birth itself, countless members of the Hojo clan reportedly came to pay respects, from the eldest elders down to the youngest.

## Pedigree outranks birth order
Tokimune had an older brother, Tokisuke, born to the principal wife, yet in terms of family rank Tokimune was placed above him. Samurai sons of the era were given a childhood name at birth, then a common name (tsusho) and a formal adult name at genpuku (coming of age). Tokimune's common name was "Sasaki Taro" — Taro meaning eldest son. His older brother Tokisuke, after his own genpuku, became "Saburo," and younger brothers followed as "Shiro" and "Shichiro"; the names Jiro, Goro, and Rokuro were deliberately skipped, making the difference in rank explicit. "Sasaki" derived from a place name that Tokiyori governed.

## A whirlwind rise as a teenager
Tokimune inherited headship of the family at age 6, and underwent genpuku the following year at 7. His eboshi-oya (ceremonial sponsor) at genpuku was none other than the shogun, Prince Munetaka, a member of the imperial family serving as the shogunate's figurehead. In 1261, at age 11, Tokimune married Horiuchi-dono (age 10), a younger sister of Adachi Yasumori; the Adachi clan had been Hojo allies since the generation of Tokiyori's father. The day after the wedding, Tokimune was suddenly summoned to a kasagake (mounted archery) event attended by the shogun himself; after missing his first shot, he hit the target on his second, prompting Tokiyori to praise him as "a vessel fit to inherit our house," an episode recounted in the show. During this period he also rose young through key posts including bettō of the Samurai-dokoro and bettō of the Mandokoro.

## The father's sudden death and an all-too-young succession
Tokiyori had become shikken (regent) at 19 and spent 18 to 19 years consolidating the power base, but died young at 37. Since Tokimune was still only 14, an unusual arrangement resulted: his relative and rensho, Hojo Masamura, became shikken, while Tokimune took the rensho post — the reverse of the normal order. At 15, Tokimune was appointed Sagami no kami, a post his father had also once held and which was traditionally given to those about to become shikken. Three years later, at 18 to 19, Tokimune duly became shikken, and Masamura returned once again to the rensho post.

## Concentrating power and ousting the shogun
After becoming shikken, Tokimune sought to disperse power by ending the practice of fixed membership on the hyojoshu (council of state), rotating its members instead. At the same time, he abolished the hikitsuke, a body originally set up to speed up judicial proceedings but which had come to function as a rung on the ladder of promotion within the Hojo clan. Fukai points to this as a sign that the organization was still "personalistic," not yet mature as an institution. Tokimune then went further, ousting the shogun Prince Munetaka — who had also been his eboshi-oya — on the flimsy pretext of his wife's infidelity, and installing the mere 3-year-old Prince Koreyasu as shogun in his place. Amid discussion of the shogunate's own financial burden in maintaining the shogun's authority and the retainers' attendance costs, the episode notes that envoys from the Mongols arrived around this same time as the shogun's ouster — a thread to be picked up next time.

## Takeaways

- Tokimune was born into an extraordinarily concentrated Hojo bloodline, and his birth was anticipated with such intensity that elaborate prayers and rites were held even before he was born.
- Rank was determined by pedigree rather than birth order, so Tokimune was given the common name "Taro" and placed above his older brother.
- After his father's sudden death, 14-year-old Tokimune became rensho, then rapidly consolidated power as shikken by rotating the hyojoshu, abolishing the hikitsuke, and ousting the shogun.