Hiki Yoshikazu

Hiki Yoshikazu (died 1203) entered Minamoto no Yoritomo’s service through a household already connected to the future ruler. His aunt and foster mother, Hiki no Ama, had nursed Yoritomo and supported him during exile. Yoshikazu then earned standing through military service: in 1189 he commanded an army on the Hokuriku route during Yoritomo’s northern campaign. He also held provincial military appointments in Kōzuke and Shinano. [S01, S02]

The family’s connection deepened around Yoritomo’s heir, Yoriie. Yoshikazu’s daughter, Wakasa no Tsubone, became Yoriie’s wife and bore Ichiman, the eldest son. After Yoritomo’s death in 1199, the Hiki helped sustain Yoriie’s position. This placed Yoshikazu within a struggle over who would succeed the next shogun, as well as who could influence the present one. The Hōjō had their own claims through kinship and service. [S01, S02, S04]

When Yoriie became seriously ill in 1203, Yoshikazu backed Ichiman’s succession against the Hōjō’s support for Yoriie’s younger brother, the future Sanetomo. Tokimasa had Yoshikazu killed at his residence; attacks on the Hiki household followed. Accounts that explain this as the exposure of a secret anti-Hōjō plot depend on narratives whose detail is contested. Yoriie’s deposition followed. A family that had helped establish Yoritomo’s rule lost its place around his heir. [S01, S02, S03, S04]