Kujō Yoritsune

Kujō Yoritsune (九条 頼経) (February 12, 1218 – September 1, 1256) was the fourth shogun (r. 1226–1244) of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan. His father was "kanpaku" Kujō Michiie and his grandmother was a niece of Minamoto no Yoritomo. He was born in the year (according to Chinese astrology) of the tiger, in the month of the tiger, on the day of the tiger, and so his given name at birth was Mitora (三寅, "Triple Tiger").

Kujō Yoritsune is also known as Fujiwara no Yoritsune because he was a member of the great Fujiwara clan. The Kujō family was one of the five branches of the historically powerful Fujiwara clan of courtiers.

Events of Yoritsune's "bakufu"

At the age of seven, in 1226, Yoritsune became "Seii Taishōgun" in a political deal between his father and the shogunate regent Hōjō Yoshitoki and Hōjō Masako who set him up as a puppet shogun.

* "Karoku 1", in the 11th month (嘉禄元年; 1225): At Kamakura, Yoritsune's coming of age ceremonies took place at age 8; but control of all bakufu affairs remained entirely in the hands of Hōjō Yasutoki, the regent ("shikken"). [Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). "Annales des empereurs du Japon," p. 240.]
* "Karoku 2", in the 1st month (1226): Emperor Go-Horikawa raised Yoritsune to the first rank of the fifth class in the apex of artistocratic court hierarchy (the "dōjō kuge"). [Titsingh, p. 240.]

* "Kangi 2", in the 12th month (1230): Yoritsune is married to the daughter of Minamoto no Yoriie. She is 15 years older than he is. [Titsingh, p. 241.]
* "Kangi 3", in the 2nd month (1231): Yoritsune is raised to the second rank of the 4th class in the "dōjō kuge". [Titsingh, p. 241.]
* "Kangi 3", in the 3rd month (1231): Yoritsune is created a general of the left. [Titsingh, p. 241.]
* "Kangi 3", in the 4th month (1231): Yoritsune is raised to the first rank of the 4th class in the "dōjō kuge". [Titsingh, p. 241.]

* "Jōei 1", in the 2nd month (貞永元年; 1232): Yoritsune is raised to the second rank of the 3rd class in the "dōjō kuge". [Titsingh, p. 241.]

* "Tenpuku 1", in the 1st month (天福元年; 1233): Yoritsune is granted the court post of provisional nihongo|Middle Counselor |中納言|"Chūnagon" [Titsingh, p. 242; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). "Jinnō Shōtōki," p. 272.]

* "Bunryaku 1", in the 12th month (文暦元年; 1234): Yoritsune is raised to the first rank of the 3rd class in the "dōjō kuge". [Titsingh, p. 243.]

* "Katei 1", in the 11th month (嘉禎元年; 1235): Yoritsune is raised to the second rank of the second class in the "dōjō kuge". [Titsingh, p. 243.]
* "Katei 2", in the 7th month (1236): Yoritsune is raised to the first rank of the second class in the "dōjō kuge". [Titsingh, p. 243.]
* "Katei 3", in the 8th month (1237): Yoritsune ordered the building of a mansion in the Rokuhara section of Miyako. [Titsingh, p. 243.]

* "Ryakunin 1", in the 1st month (暦仁元年; 1238): Yoritsune leaves Kamakura en route to Miyako, accompanied by Yaskutoki and the troupes of several provinces. Fujiwara no Yukimitis stays at Kamakura to preserve order in the land. [Titsingh, p. 243.]
* "Ryakunin 1", in the 2nd month (1238): Yoritsune arrives in Miyako and begins to live in his new palace at Rokuhara. [Titsingh, p. 244.]
* "Ryakunin 1", in the 10th month (1238): Yoritsune leaves Miyako to return to Kamakura. [Titsingh, p. 244.]

* "Ninji 3", the 15th day of the 6th month (July 14, 1242): Hōjō Yasutoki died at age 60. From "Gennin" 1, or during 19 years, Yasutoki had been the regent or prime minister ("shikken") of the Kamakura shogunate. Yasutoki's son, Hōjō Tsunetoki succeeded him as "shikken", but Yoritsune himself took charge of the bakufu. [Titsingh, p. 246.]

* "Kangen 2" (1244): In the spring of this year, a number of extraordinary phenomena in the skies over Kamakura troubled Yoritsune deeply. [Titsingh, p. 247.]
* "Kangen 2", in the 4th month (1244): Yoritsune's son, Yoritsugu, had his coming-of-age ceremonies at age 6. In the same month, Yoritsune asked Emperor Go-Saga for permission to give up his responsibilities as shogun in favor of his son, Kujō Yoritsugu. [Titsingh, p. 247.]
* "Kangen 3", in the 7th month (September 1, 1245): Yoshitsune shaved his head and became a Buddhist priest. [Titsingh, p. 247.]
* "Kangen 4", in the 7th month (October 14, 1246): Yoritsune's son, now Shogun Yoritsugu (who is only 7 years old) marries the sister of Hōjō Tsunetoki (who is himself only 16 years old). [Titsingh, p. 247.]

* "Kōgen 1", on the 11th day of the 8th month (康元元年; 1256): Kujō Yoritsune, also known as Fujiwara Yoritsune, died at the age of 39 years. [Titsingh, p. 252. [Tsuchihashi conversion: 1.9.1256 (Friday)/康元一年八月十一日] ]
* "Kōgen 1", on the 24th day of the 9th month (1256): Yoritsune's son and successor as Kamakura shogun, Kujō Yoritsugu, also known as Fujiwara Yoritsugu, died at the age of 18 years. [Titsingh, p. 252. [Tsuchihashi conversion: 14.10.1256 (Saturday)/康元一年九月二十五日] ]

Eras of Yoritsune's "bakufu"

The years in which Yoritsune was shogun are more specifically identified by more than one era name or "nengō". [Titsingh, p. 240.]
* "Karoku" (1225-1227)
* "Antei" (1227-1229)
* "Kangi" (1229-1232)
* "Jōei" (1232-1233)
* "Tenpuku" (1233-1234)
* "Bunryaku" (1234-1235)
* "Katei" (1235-1238)
* "Ryakunin" (1238-1239)
* "En'ō" (1239-1240)
* "Ninji" (1240-1243)
* "Kangen" (1243-1247)

References

Notes

Further reading

* Mass, Jeffrey P. "The Kamakura bakufu : a study in documents". Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1976.
* Mass, Jeffrey P. "Warrior government in early medieval Japan : a study of the Kamakura Bakufu, shugo and jitō" New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974.
* Ōyama Kyōhei. "Kamakura bakufu" 鎌倉幕府. Tokyo: Shōgakkan 小学館, 1974.
* Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō (1652)] , "Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth." Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran --"Two digitized examples of this rare book have now been made available online: (1) from the library of the University of Michigan, digitized January 30, 2007; and (2) from the library of Stanford University, digitized June 23, 2006." Click here to read the original text in French.]
* Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa (1359)] , "Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley)." New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-321-04940-4