Fourth-generation head of the Hōjō clan

Hōjō Ujimasa

北条氏政

birth year unknown – 1590

Fourth-generation head of the Hōjō clan. At age 22, he succeeded to leadership in December 1559 with the support of his father Ujiyasu, and undertook relief for famines and epidemics in the domain, defended against Uesugi Kenshin's invasion in 1561 and Takeda Shingen's attack on Odawara in 1569. At the Second Battle of Kōnodai in 1564, he defeated Satomi Yoshihiro, and after his father's death, he revived the Kai-Sagami Alliance and expanded his power into Shimotsuke, Hitachi, and Bōsō. After transferring leadership to Ujinao in August 1580, he continued to serve as 'Goinkyosama' (the retired lord), overseeing governance, and after the fall of Odawara in 1590 was ordered to commit suicide. Anecdotes such as 'soup over rice' and 'Odawara council' are representative examples of later low evaluations, not historical records of actual governance.

Sources　おだわらデジタルミュージアム「北条氏政」／小田原市「四代氏政の時代」／おだわらデジタルミュージアム「北条氏直」／小田原市「五代氏直の家督相続」／小田原市「小田原合戦」／小田原市「北条氏五代100年の歴史」／小田原市「北条氏ゆかりの地を訪ねる」／国立国会図書館サーチ『北条氏政：乾坤を截破し太虚に帰す』