Editing Kamakura shogunate (section)

===The Hōjō Regency===
[[File:Procession-of-Minamoto-no-Yoritomo-visits-Kyoto-1190-Utagawa-Sadahide.png|thumb|260x260px|Minamoto no Yoritomo's procession goes to Kyoto during the early Kamakura Shogunate period.|left]]
Yoritomo unexpectedly died in an accident in 1199, leaving the Minamoto clan weakened. [[Hōjō Tokimasa]], the father of Yoritomo's widow, [[Hōjō Masako]], and former guardian and protector of Yoritomo, claimed the title of regent ([[shikken]]) to Yoritomo's son [[Minamoto no Yoriie]], eventually making that claim hereditary to the [[Hōjō clan]]. At the same time, Hōjō Masako maneuvered herself into such a powerful, albeit informal, position that people began calling her the "nun shogun" in the place of her son Yoriie. As Minamoto no Yoriie grew older, however, he attempted to exert real power, resulting in a power struggle with the Hōjō clan of his own mother. These conflicts caused considerable tensions within the shogunate.{{sfn|Turnbull|2010|p=11}} In 1201, the Jo clan unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the Minamoto clan in the [[Kennin Rebellion]].{{sfn|Turnbull|2010|p=12}} Eventually, Tokimasa deposed Yoriie, backed up his younger brother, [[Minamoto no Sanetomo]], as a new shōgun, and assumed the post of [[shikken]]. Sanetomo was only twelve at this point, and accordingly power factually rested with his mother Hōjō Masako. The Minamoto remained the titular shōguns, with the Hōjō holding the real power. In 1204, loyalists of Yoriie attempted an uprising to topple the Hōjō domination, but the latter defeated the rebels and assassinated Yoriie.{{sfn|Turnbull|2010|p=11}}

In 1205, Hōjō Tokimasa attempted to depose Sanetomo, hoping to install his son-in-law as new shogun. However, his daughter Hōjō Masako saw this as threat to her own status; she arranged the pretender's murder and banished her father to a monastery.{{sfn|Turnbull|2010|p=11}} In 1219, Sanetomo was assassinated by his nephew [[Kugyō (Minamoto no Yoshinari)|Kugyō]]. Since Sanetomo died childless, the line of shōguns from the Minamoto clan ended with him.{{sfn|Turnbull|2010|pp=11–12}} From this point onwards, the Hōjō were in total control.{{sfn|Turnbull|2010|p=12}} With Sanetomo's death in 1219, his mother Hōjō Masako continued to serve as the shogunate's real center of power.<ref name = "GTK"/> As long as she lived, regents and shōguns would come and go, while she stayed at the helm. Since the Hōjō family did not have the rank to nominate a shōgun from among its members, Masako had to find a convenient puppet.<ref name="EB">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-23145/Japan|title=Encyclopædia Britannica online|encyclopedia=The Hojo Regency|access-date=2008-04-28}}</ref> The problem was solved by choosing Kujo Yoritsune, a distant relation of the Minamoto, who would be the fourth shōgun and figurehead, while [[Hōjō Yoshitoki]] would take care of day-to-day business.<ref name="EB"/> However powerless, future shōguns would always be chosen from either [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara]] or imperial lineage to keep the bloodline pure<ref name="EB"/> and give legitimacy to the rule. This succession proceeded for more than a century.<ref name="EB"/>

As a result, the Kamakura shogunate rested on an unusual pyramid of regents and ''de facto'' usurpation: The true rulers, namely the Hōjō regents, had usurped power from the Minamoto, who had usurped it from the Emperor, descending from [[Emperor Kōkō]], who usurped it from the children of [[Emperor Seiwa]]. At the same time, the regents, shoguns, and emperors all still maintained their nominal positions and existed alongside each other. The regime nonetheless proved to be stable enough to last a total of 135 years, 9 shōguns and 16 regents.<ref name="GTK"/>

In 1221, [[Emperor Go-Toba]] tried to regain power in what would be called the {{nihongo|[[Jōkyū War]]|承久の乱|Jōkyū no Ran}}, but the attempt failed.<ref name="KHKP"/> The power of the Hōjō remained unchallenged until 1324, when [[Emperor Go-Daigo]] orchestrated a plot to overthrow them, but the plot was discovered almost immediately and foiled.<ref name="GTK">{{cite web|url=http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~qm9t-kndu/history.htm|title=A Guide to Kamakura|work=History|date=January 2006|access-date=2008-04-28|archive-date=2007-11-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116235615/http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/history.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>