Hōjō Sōun

Hōjō Sōun

Hōjō Sōun ( Japanese 北 条 早 雲 , also Hōjō Nagauji (北 条 長 氏); born 1432 ; died September 8, 1519 ) was a Japanese general in the Muromachi period and founder of the later Hōjō .

Live and act

Sōun was born in Suruga Province and was initially called Ise Shinkurō (伊 勢 新 九郎). He served Imagawa Yoshitada (今 川 義忠; 1436–1476) and his son Ujichika (今 川 氏 親; 1471–1526) from 1475 and was initially administrator of Hachiman-yama Castle (八 幡 山城), then Kōkokuji Castle. When Ashikaga Masatomo (足 利 政 知) was murdered by his own son Chacha-maru (足 利 茶 々 丸; 1470–1498) in 1491, Sōun took action against him, killed him, took possession of the Izu province and settled in Nirayama Castle (韮 山城) down. He married his son Ujitsuna to a descendant of the old Hōjō and changed his own name to Hōjō . He then shaved his head and called himself Sōun .

At the time when two of the Uesugi clans , namely the Yamanouchi and the Ōgigayatsu branch of the Uesugi , were fighting each other, Sōun offered to choose between Ōgigayatsu Sadamasa (扇 谷 定 正; 1443–1493) and Yamanouchi Akisada (山 内 顯 定; 1454; 1454 –1510). After he had invaded the province of Sagami , he took over Odawara Castle in 1495 and made it his seat. In 1510, when Akisada was defeated and killed by Nagao Tamekage († 1540), the Uesugi gradually lost power, so that Sōun his Could enlarge possession. He besieged Miura Yoshiatsu (三浦 義 厚; † 1518) in his castle Arai (新 井 城) and took it in 1518, whereby he ruled the entire province of Sagami. He died at his Nirayama Castle the following year at the age of 88.

Hōjō Sōun was not only a remarkable general, but also an excellent administrator. He left a code of 21 chapters that reflected his foresight and political talent.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Hōjō Sōun . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia . Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 550.
• Edmond Papinot: Hōjō Nagauji . In: Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan . Reprinted by Tuttle, 1972 edition of 1910 edition. ISBN 0-8048-0996-8 .