Hōjō Ujinori

Hojo Ujinori was a warrior of the Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and a member of the Late Hojo clan. Born in 1545 as the fourth son of Hojo Ujiyasu, he died of illness on the 8th day of the 2nd month of Keicho 5 (22 March 1600) at the age of 56. His mother was Zuikeiin, a daughter of Imagawa Ujichika; he was a full younger brother of Ujimasa and Ujiteru and an elder half-brother of Ujikuni. He held the Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, and the offices of Mino-no-kami and Sama-no-suke, and was commonly called Sukegoro.

Hostage years with the Imagawa

In childhood he was placed with Imagawa Yoshimoto in Sunpu and is said to have been raised by Jukeini. He reportedly came to know Matsudaira Takechiyo, the future Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was a hostage there too; one tradition says their residences were next to each other. Ieyasu later valued Ujinori as his channel for dealing with the Hojo, and in the peace talks after the Tensho Jingo War Ujinori is said to have visited Ieyasu and renewed their old friendship.

Nirayama Castle and the Odawara Campaign

From about 1580 he again served concurrently as castle commander of Nirayama; the last confirmed document is a sealed order dated the 9th month of Tensho 13 (1585). In the Odawara Campaign of 1590 he defended Nirayama, holding out for more than four months with about 3,640 men. He finally surrendered after persuasion by Ieyasu and Kuroda Kanbei. Earlier he had gone to Kyoto to negotiate the Hojo's submission and held several rounds of talks with the Toyotomi side.

After the war and the Sayama domain

After the war he followed Hojo Ujinao into confinement on Mount Koya, but was later pardoned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He received 2,000 koku in Nishikori District, Kawachi, in 1591, and 6,980 koku in Kawachi District in 1594, becoming lord of Sayama. His heir Ujimori inherited 4,000 koku of Ujinao's former lands, and after Ujinori's death the Hojo returned to daimyo status with 11,000 koku. This line became the Sayama domain in Kawachi, whose lords continued until the Meiji Restoration. His grave is at Senne-ji in Osaka and his Buddhist name is Issuiin-den Shoyo Soen Daikoji.

Later reputation

The Kaisei Mikawa Go Fudoki praises him as a distinguished Hojo commander devoted to both strategy and martial valour. The Hojo Godaiki relates that after the surrender of Odawara, having just served as second for Ujimasa and Ujiteru, he tried to take his own life and was stopped by Ii Naomasa.