Hojo

Japanese family of Taira descent that ruled Japan as hereditary regents (shikken) from 1199 to 1333, a period known as the Kamakura Shogunate from the shogunal base at Kamakura. The Hojo gained prominence under the first shogun, Minamoto Yoritomo, who married into the family. His father-in-law, Hojo Tokimasa, became the regent for Yoritomo's young heir in 1199. By 1219, when the main Minamoto line was cut short by assassination, the Hojo were entrenched in power, and soon set up the legal and institutional structure of shogunal rule. In Japanese fashion, however, they left intact the puppet shogunate, which in turn pulled the strings of a puppet emperor. The clan ruled ably until the late 13th century, leading national resistance to the Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281, but they later tended to become inept and dissolute. The last Hojo regent killed himself in 1333 during the restoration led by Emperor Go-Daigo which led to its replacement by the Ashikaga shogunate.