Hōjō Masako (北条 政子; 1157 – August 16, 1225) was a Japanese female samurai (onna-musha) and politician who exercised significant power in the early years of the Kamakura period, which was reflected by her contemporary sobriquet of the "nun shogun". She was the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo, and mother of Minamoto no Yoriie and Minamoto no Sanetomo, the first, second and third shoguns of the Kamakura shogunate, respectively. She was the eldest daughter of Hōjō Tokimasa and sister of Hōjō Yoshitoki, both of them shikken of the Kamakura shogunate.
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Early life and marriage (1157–1182)
Hōjō Masako (her real name is unknown; she was called Masako after her father's name Tokimasa by later researchers) was born in 1157, eldest child of Hōjō Tokimasa, leader of the influential Hōjō clan of Izu province, and his wife, Hōjō no Maki. Masako's parents were still in their teens, so she was raised by many ladies-in-waiting and nannies. Masako was born into a world of war and strife. In Kyoto, the capital of Japan, the Hōgen Rebellion was in full swing. Cloistered Emperor Toba and Emperor Sutoku warred over who would be the next emperor. The Hōjō clan wisely chose to stay out of the rebellion, even though the Hōjō family was descended from the Taira clan and thus was related to the imperial family.