The move was not unprecedented - families of Japanese court descent such as the Northern Fujiwara had done the same thing in the north, in beyond-the-pale lands that had never been fully pacified by Heian. ButYoritomo was doing this in marches, near what is now Tokyo, which had recognized imperial suzerainty for at least half a millennium. Despite enjoying distant imperial ancestry, he was very much a member of a new class of people on the Japanese scene: samurai, hereditary warrior vassals.
History remembers these acts in Yoritomo's name, but there is much to suggest that the brains behind this scheme were those of his wife Masako and her family, the Hojo. The new capital was in their region, many of Yoritomo's initial followers had Hojo ties, and, as implied in contemporary chronicles, Yoritomo himself was an indifferent leader who relied heavily on his decisive wife.
Hojo Masako
Hojo Masako was born into a minor rural samurai family in 1157. When she was three years old, what seemed like the final move in a massive samurai putsch for power took place in Heian. The powerful Taira clan destroyed their main rivals, the Minamoto, and put them to the sword. Only three young boys, Yoritomo, Noriyori, and Yoshitsune, were spared, to be exiled to places where it seemed that they would never again threaten Taira power and influence over the emperor and his court.
Yoritomo found himself in custody near Masako's father's fief, but after the daughter
