The Hōjō clan supplied the regents who controlled the Kamakura shogunate for much of the 13th century.
The Hōjō rose to power through Hōjō Tokimasa, the father-in-law of Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura shogunate. After Yoritomo’s death, Hōjō family members became shikken, or regents, governing on behalf of successive shoguns. Their authority often exceeded that of the nominal military rulers.
The clan’s most influential leaders included Hōjō Yasutoki, who helped organize the shogunate’s legal system, and Hōjō Tokimune, who directed Japan’s defense during the Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281. The Hōjō also sponsored the compilation of the Goseibai Shikimoku legal code in 1232.
The Hōjō regency ended in 1333, when forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo and Ashikaga Takauji overthrew the Kamakura government. The clan should not be confused with the later Hōjō family that ruled much of the Kantō region during the Sengoku period.