Hōjō Tokimune (5 June 1251 – 20 April 1284) of the Hōjō clan was the eighth shikken (officially regent of the shōgun, but de facto ruler of Japan) of the Kamakura shogunate (reigned 1268–84), known for leading the Japanese forces against the invasion of the Mongols and for spreading Zen Buddhism. In part to the victory over the Mongols under Tokimune’s guidance, Zen Buddhism began to spread among the samurai class with some rapidity. Tokimune linked Zen with the “moral” code of the samurai class (later called bushido) that stressed frugality, martial arts, loyalty and “honor unto death.” Born from neo-Confucianism, bushido under Tokimune was mixed with elements of Shinto and Zen, adding a dose of wisdom and serenity to the otherwise violent code. Eventually, under the later Tokugawa shogunate, some of these teachings of bushido would be formalized in Japanese feudal law.
Alias Hōjō Tokimune (北条 時宗)
Real Names/Alt Names Hōjō Tokimune (北条 時宗), Hōjō Takatoki
First Appearance Historical figure (b. 1251 – d. 1284)
First Publisher ○
Appearance List Literature: The Taiheiki: a Chronicle of Medieval Japan (1390, Translated 1959), Japan: Its History, Traditions, and Religions: With the Narrative of a Visit in 1879 (17 April 1880) by Sir Edward James Reed, A History of Japan, Vol. 1, From the origins to the arrival of the Portuguese in 1542 A.D (1910), Legend in Japanese Art (1908)
Sample Read Japan: Its History, Traditions, and Religions: With the Narrative of a Visit in 1879 (17 April 1880) by Sir Edward James Reed [Internet Archive]
Description Hōjō Tokimune (5 June 1251 – 20 April 1284) of the Hōjō clan was the eighth shikken (officially regent of the shōgun, but de facto ruler of Japan) of the Kamakura shogunate (reigned 1268–84), known for leading the Japanese forces against the invasion of the Mongols and for spreading Zen Buddhism. In part to the victory over the Mongols under Tokimune’s guidance, Zen Buddhism began to spread among the samurai class with some rapidity. Tokimune linked Zen with the “moral” code of the samurai class (later called bushido) that stressed frugality, martial arts, loyalty and “honor unto death.” Born from neo-Confucianism, bushido under Tokimune was mixed with elements of Shinto and Zen, adding a dose of wisdom and serenity to the otherwise violent code. Eventually, under the later Tokugawa shogunate, some of these teachings of bushido would be formalized in Japanese feudal law.
