Other lordship · The court at Kyoto and its provinces · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Jō and Echigo families

Echigo is a long province along the Japan Sea, with its capital on the south coast at Naoetsu (the campaign board's 'Echigo kokufu') and its power in the north.

There the Taira family of Jō, once the strongest warriors of the province, hold their lands beyond the Agano. Kamakura beat the Jō in the Genpei war and keeps stewards in Echigo (the province is also recalled as one of the group of governorships Kamakura names, the gobunkoku), but the Jō remain, and on the likely course in 1201 (Kennin 1) their revolt, under Jō Sukemori in Echigo and Jō Nagashige at Kyoto, is one of the first tests of the regime after the death of Yoritomo (recalled; the dates are not pinned). The Sasaki are recalled as the Kamakura family put over Echigo, whose constable we cannot name for 1200.

Who he is

Name
Jō Sukemori (the nephew) and Jō Nagashige (the uncle, called Sukemochi), recalled
Title
Local warriors: the Jō (Taira) of Aga-kita in north Echigo, and Kamakura's constable and stewards
Since
not pinned
Born
not known
Family
Jō Sukenaga (d. 1181) was the strongest warrior of Echigo when the Genpei war began; his brother Nagashige (Sukemochi) and later nephew Sukemori hold the family's lands in the Aga-kita district beyond the Agano river (recalled).
Confidence
low

The brief (the realm's likely course names Jō Sukemori's rising in 1201); recollection of Mass. No page opened.

Overlord

The court's governor of Echigo; Kamakura's constable and stewards (names not pinned)

What it holds

  • The Jō lands in Aga-kita (recalled)
  • Kamakura's stewardships on the Echigo plain (not itemised)

How it was acquired

By descent; the Jō lands survived the war.

Allies and rivals

The Jō are the rivals of Kamakura's stewards; the Sasaki are recalled as the regime's family.

How things stand that morning

Quiet; the Jō are watched.

Wealth

Rice, salt and the Japan Sea ports; no figure.

Military

Jō retainers; no numbers.

Threats

  • Kamakura's stewards and the Sasaki

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. Kennin 1/2 (from about March 1201)The Jō revolt: Nagashige at Kyoto (killed within weeks) and Sukemori in Echigo, who holds Torisaka castle for some months until Kamakura's army beats him (recalled).Depends on: Kamakura's weakness and the Jō's resentment Stopped by: Early detection by the constable of Kyoto or Echigo

Where the sources disagree

  • The shugo of Echigo for 1200 is not pinned; the Sasaki attribution is recalled, not read.

Evidence: Brief and recollection only.

On the map: Approximate.

Primary sources for Kyoto court

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

4 more in the sources library for Korea and Japan.

Sources and studies

  1. KJA_BRIEF.md and the OMNIA board for sheet kja (the lead's notes: [own] computation, [not yet checked against the source] recollection, [en] English Wikipedia)
  2. Azuma Kagami (the Kamakura chronicle), Kenkyu 10 to Shoji 2 entries, recalled and through the brief; ja.wikipedia and ja.wikisource were refused in this session, so no entry was re-read
  3. Jeffrey P. Mass, Warrior Government in Early Medieval Japan (1974), from memory; the archive.org full text could not be opened

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.