The Kamakura house and its housemen

Who rules

Name

Minamoto no Yoriie

Title

Head of the Minamoto house and lord of Kamakura (Kamakura-dono); Sakon'e-no-chūjō; not yet shogun

Since

Succeeded his father Yoritomo (died 9 February 1199 Julian, Kenkyū 10/1/13) by the court's confirmation of the first month of 1199 (the day, 1/26, is recalled, not re-read). He becomes shogun only in the 7th month of 1202.

Born

1182 (Juei 1/8/12 by our recollection, about 12 September Julian); 17 by the Western count, 18 by the Japanese

Family

Eldest living son of Yoritomo and Hōjō Masako. Mother: the nun Masako. Younger brother: Senman (the later Sanetomo, b. 1192). Wife: Wakasa no Tsubone, daughter of Hiki Yoshikazu; son Ichiman (b. 1198). His sisters Ōhime (d. 1197) and Otohime (d. 1199) are dead. Maternal grandfather: Hōjō Tokimasa. His foster family, the Hiki, are also his wife's family.

Confidence

high on the person and his status, medium on single dates

The brief and the campaign board; English Wikipedia (Hiki Yoshikazu, Hōjō Tokimasa) and the zh.wikipedia page on Yoriie, which give the council of 1199 and the succession; the Azuma Kagami itself could not be opened (ja.wikipedia and ja.wikisource refused).

Overlord

In law the court: the emperor Tsuchimikado (a boy of about four, born at the turn of 1195 and 1196) and the cloistered emperor Go-Toba, who rules for him, give Kamakura its titles and ranks. In practice nobody in the east.

What the realm holds

• Kamakura itself, the seat in the valley between the hills and Yuigahama, with Yoritomo's Ōkura mansion, Tsurugaoka Hachimangū and the harbour road to Mutsuura and Yuigahama
• The Kantō goryō: the house's own estates, mostly former Taira lands that no one else claimed (Heike mikan-ryō), counted at about five hundred by the chronicler Jien in the Gukanshō (his figure, not a survey)
• The right to name the court's governors (kokushi) in a group of provinces, the Kantō gobunkoku: Mikawa, Musashi and Suruga from 1184, extended later (Sagami, Izu, Kazusa and others are recalled; the list for 1 January 1200 is not pinned)
• Constable (shugo) posts credited to great houses of the east: the Miura in Sagami, the Chiba in Shimōsa, Oyama in Shimotsuke, Hatta in Hitachi, Takeda in Kai, Adachi in Mikawa, the Hiki in Shinano and Kōzuke (only the Adachi in Mikawa is supported by an English Wikipedia page; the rest are recalled, not re-read)
• Steward (jitō) rights over the lands of the Ōshū Fujiwara in Mutsu and Dewa since 1189, under the Ōshū sōbugyō Kasai Kiyoshige and the Mutsu rusu-shiki Isawa Iezumi (recalled)
• Offices: the Mandokoro (policy and finance, Ōe no Hiromoto), the Monchūjo (records and appeals, Miyoshi Yasunobu), the Saburai-dokoro (the housemen's office, bettō Wada Yoshimori, its deputy Kajiwara Kagetoki until his dismissal)
• Agents in the west: stewards and constables in Kyūshū (Shimazu, Ōtomo, Mutō, the Chinzei bugyō) and the guard post at Rokuhara in Kyoto: these are written on the West Japan records

How it was acquired

Built in stages: the rising of 1180 (Yoritomo in Izu, Ishibashiyama lost, then Fujigawa and the submission of the Kantō houses), the Genpei war to 1185, the grant of shugo and jitō in the 11th month of 1185, the fall of Hiraizumi in autumn 1189, Yoritomo's title of Sei-i-taishōgun in 1192. The council of thirteen dates from 8 May 1199.

Allies and rivals

Allies: the court party that still looks to Kamakura (the Kujō and Konoe sides) is weak, because Kujō Kanezane fell in the coup of 1196 and Minamoto no Michichika governs the court for Go-Toba until, on the likely course, he dies in 1202. Rivals inside: the Hiki (Yoriie's side) against the Hōjō (Masako's and Senman's side); the old guard of the Miura, Wada, Chiba, Hatakeyama and Oyama houses who have just broken Kajiwara. Outside: the great temples (Enryakuji, Kōfukuji, Ise) hold land that Kamakura's stewards cannot touch; the Taira remnants in Ise and Iga; the Kai Genji (Takeda Ariyoshi) are watched.

The realm that morning

First light finds a regime in the middle of a purge. The petition of sixty-six housemen against Kajiwara Kagetoki (autumn 1199) has been presented and Yoriie has bowed to it; Kajiwara is out of favour and out of the Saburai-dokoro, either already at his estate of Ichinomiya or, on the brief's reading, still to be formally dismissed from Kamakura on 12/18 (5 or 6 January). The Thirteen sit. The first anniversary of Yoritomo's death (1/13, about 30 January) is four weeks away (30 January is 29 days after 1 January) and Masako is preparing it.

The Hōjō, the Miura and the Hiki each count their friends. Kamakura holds the Kantō, Izu and Suruga firmly, Mikawa, Tōtōmi and Kai by constables and housemen, Mutsu and Dewa by stewards, and has only a thin reach in Owari, Mino, Echizen and the Hokuriku.

Wealth

Rice and silk in kind from the Kantō goryō and the housemen's lands; the sea trade of Mutsuura and Yuigahama; fairs and craftsmen at Kamakura; Song copper coin in use but not minted here; Mutsu gold and horses since 1189. No figure.

Military

Mounted housemen (gokenin) led by their own heads of house, with their retainers; the Miura boat-warriors of Sagami are the nearest thing to a fleet; the constable's authority is limited to the three duties (capital guard, rebels, murderers). No numbers: the counts of horsemen in the Azuma Kagami and the Heike monogatari are not evidence.

Threats

• A struggle between Hiki and Hōjō for the heir (Ichiman against Senman) once Yoriie falls ill or is pushed aside
• A court that treats Yoriie as a boy and plays his houses against him (Go-Toba, Michichika)
• The Takeda and other Kai Genji, and a Taira remnant in Ise-Iga, who wait for a reason to rise
• Revolt in the north, where the Ōshū Fujiwara's old men are not reconciled (the Ōkawa Kanetō rising of 1189 to 1190 is the warning)

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.

In 1200

1. Shōji 1/12/18 (about 5 or 6 January 1200 Julian)Kajiwara Kagetoki is formally dismissed from Kamakura, the saburai-dokoro deputy post is taken from him, and he withdraws to Ichinomiya in Sagami (if he is not there already).Depends on: Yoriie accepting the petition of the sixty-six, which he has done in substance Stopped by: A retraction by the housemen, or Yoriie's own protection, neither of which is likely
2. Shōji 2/1/13 (about 30 January 1200)First anniversary of Yoritomo's death, kept by Masako at the Hokkedō.Depends on: The household being at peace Stopped by: Only an order of Yoriie's, or the removal or death of Masako; it is a custom, not a decision.
3. Shōji 2/1/19 to 20 (about 5 to 6 February 1200)Kajiwara sets out for Kyoto with his sons and kin and is cut down with them by the housemen of Suruga at the Kiyomi barrier or near Kambara (the Azuma Kagami counts thirty-three of his house dead).Depends on: Kamakura sending orders to the Suruga housemen once Kajiwara's road west is known; Kajiwara riding Stopped by: Kajiwara staying at Ichinomiya, in which case he is hunted down there
4. Shōji 2/1/23 (about 9 February 1200)Miura Yoshizumi dies, aged about seventy-three; his son Yoshimura heads the Miura and the Sagami constable's post passes to him.Depends on: Natural death Stopped by: Nothing in play stops a natural death; only a change in the person's circumstances (illness cured, flight, removal) alters the date, and the campaign rules on that.
5. Shōji 2/4/26 (about 10 May 1200; the month may be out by one)Adachi Morinaga dies; the Thirteen are now ten (Kajiwara, Yoshizumi and Morinaga gone). His son Kagemori inherits the Mikawa constable's post.Depends on: Natural death Stopped by: Nothing in play stops a natural death; only a change in the person's circumstances (illness cured, flight, removal) alters the date, and the campaign rules on that.
6. Shōji 2 (1200), month not pinnedMasako founds Jufukuji on the site of Yoshitomo's old house at Kamegayatsu, with Eisai as founding abbot.Depends on: Masako's purse and Eisai's coming east Stopped by: Her being drawn into the Hiki-Hōjō quarrel
7. Shōji 2/8, about late September 1200 (the month may be out by one)Yoriie takes the concubine of Adachi Kagemori; Kagemori nearly rises; Masako sends Hōjō Yoshitoki to calm him.Depends on: Yoriie's conduct and Kagemori's pride Stopped by: Masako's intervention, which in the event stops it

Later, on the likely course

1. Kennin 1 (from the 2nd month of 1201, about February 1201)Jō Sukemori, a Taira man of Echigo, rises and is put down by Kamakura's men after some months; Chiba Tsunetane dies (recalled).Depends on: Remaining Taira men in the north Stopped by: Quick action by the Echigo constable
2. Kennin 2/7 (about August 1202)Yoriie is made Sei-i-taishōgun; Michichika dies in the tenth month; Kujō Yoshitsune becomes regent.Depends on: The court's favour Stopped by: Nothing in play stops a natural death; only a change in the person's circumstances (illness cured, flight, removal) alters the date, and the campaign rules on that.
3. Kennin 3/9/2 (8 October 1203 Julian; English pages print 2 September)Hiki Yoshikazu is killed at Hōjō Tokimasa's house at Nagoe and the Hiki are destroyed, with Ichiman; Yoriie, forced to become a monk, is sent to Shuzenji in Izu (about 4 November). The Azuma Kagami and the Gukanshō disagree on who killed Ichiman.Depends on: Yoriie's grave illness of the 7th month (about 29 August 1203) and his division of the realm between Ichiman (the Kantō) and Senman (the west), which the Hōjō will not accept Stopped by: Yoriie's recovery before the division, or the Hiki striking first
4. Genkyū 1/7/18 (about August 1204)Yoriie is murdered at Shuzenji; Tokimasa has been regent (shikken) since 1203.Depends on: Hōjō supremacy Stopped by: A change in who holds the power to order it (see the dependency), or the victim's escape or protection.
5. Genkyū 2/6/22 (about July 1205)Hatakeyama Shigetada is killed at the Futamata river; Tokimasa falls in the following month and Yoshitoki becomes shikken.Depends on: Tokimasa's wife Maki no Kata and the Hiraga plot Stopped by: A change in who holds the power to order it (see the dependency), or the victim's escape or protection.

Places of note

• Ōkura mansion (Ōkura gosho): Yoritomo's mansion and the seat of the Mandokoro, Monchūjo and Saburai-dokoro (site approximate: east of Tsurugaoka)
• Tsurugaoka Hachimangū: The Minamoto house's war-god shrine and the head of the Wakamiya road to the sea
• Yuigahama: The beach where ships are drawn up and the town ends

Where the sources disagree

• The brief says the English Hōjō Masako page calls her regent: she is a nun and a widow. 'Ama-shōgun' is a name of the 1220s; the Azuma Kagami calls her the nun consort (Ama Mi-daidokoro).
• Words that are not yet in use: bakufu, shogunate (the sources say Kamakura-dono or the Kantō), shikken (1203), Rokuhara tandai (1221), samurai as a class (the saburai-dokoro is an office).
• The campaign board puts Kajiwara at Ichinomiya 'on this morning': he may be, on one reading of the Azuma Kagami; the brief puts the dismissal on 12/18. Either way he is finished and still alive on 1 January.
• The campaign board writes Mutsura; the harbour is Mutsuura (Kanazawa ward of Yokohama today) and lies in Musashi, not Sagami.
• Counts such as 'five hundred estates' and any number of horsemen are chroniclers' figures; they are named, not repeated as fact.

Evidence: The Azuma Kagami, the Gyokuyō, the Meigetsuki and the Gukanshō are thick, but ja.wikipedia and ja.wikisource were refused, no web search was left and the archive.org full text of Mass was not available, so the lists of constables and governors rest on recollection and the brief. The English and zh Wikipedia pages read were thin on 1199 to 1200.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

On the map: Drawn as the colour of ground where Kamakura's officers keep the peace and its housemen hold stewardships. The court's governors, the temple and shrine estates and the court's proprietors still take much of the revenue in every province drawn here; the provinces' own records say where.

Primary sources for this realm

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.

• Hundred Times Refined Extracts: court annals (late thirteenth century, from court diaries). Short dated annals of the imperial court excerpted from courtiers' diaries, among them the Gyokuyo and the Meigetsuki. Read online
• Mirror of the East, Anonymous; compiled by officials of the Kamakura shogunate (compiled about 1300 from the shogunate's records, diaries and family documents). The Kamakura house's own chronicle, in daily entries. Read online
• Jottings of a Fool: an interpretative history of Japan, Jien (慈円) (about 1219 to 1220, revised to about 1223). A history by Kujo Kanezane's brother, head of the Tendai school and the leading churchman of the court, written to explain the fall of the Kujo and the rise of the warriors as the working of principle (dori). Read online
• Diary of the Inokuma Regent: the diary of Konoe Iezane, Konoe Iezane (近衛家実) (1197 to 1218, as a daily diary). The diary of the regent's heir, aged twenty-one in 1200 and already a senior courtier under his father Konoe Motomichi, who was regent (sessho) for the child emperor Tsuchimikado. Read online
• Leaves of Jade: the diary of Kujo Kanezane, Kujo (Fujiwara) Kanezane (九條兼實) (1164 to 1200, as a daily diary). The diary of the former regent, Yoritomo's ally at court, who had been driven from power in the Kenkyu purge of 1196 and lived in retirement in 1200. Read online
• Record of the Bright Moon: the diary of Fujiwara no Teika, Fujiwara no Teika (藤原定家) (1180 to 1235, as a daily diary, with gaps). The diary of the poet and courtier, then thirty-eight and a middle-ranking official of the Kujo house. Read online
• Surviving Documents of the Kamakura Period, Various; collected by Takeuchi Rizo (竹内理三) (documents of 1185 to 1333, collected and printed 1971 to 1997). The collected charters, deeds, court orders, shogunal directives, temple records and land registers of the Kamakura age, printed in date order. Read online
• The Tale of the Heike, Anonymous; traditionally attributed to Shinano no Zenji Yukinaga, performed and reshaped by blind reciters (early thirteenth century in its first form; the standard Kakuichi text was fixed in 1371). The epic of the Genpei war, in the form the reciters gave it over the century after 1200. Read online