Tokuso

Tokuso (得宗 Tokusō) was the head of the Hojo clan, who monopolized the position of shikken (regents) of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. In the late Kamakura period, tokuso became more powerful than shikken.

The name tokuso is said to have come from Tokushū (徳崇), the Buddhist name of Hojo Yoshitoki, but Hojo Tokimasa is usually regarded as the first tokuso. There were nine tokuso:

Hojo Tokimasa
Hojo Yoshitoki
Hojo Yasutoki
Hojo Tokiuji
Hojo Tsunetoki
Hojo Tokiyori
Hojo Tokimune
Hojo Sadatoki
Hojo Takatoki

The political structure of the tokuso dictatorship was set up by Yasutoki and was consolidated by his son Tokiyori. Tokuso came to held overwhelming power over gokenin and the rest of the Hojo clan. Tokiyori often worked out policies at private meetings (寄合 yoriai) at his residence instead of discussing at Hyōjō (評定), the council of the shogunate. That made tokuso's retainers (御内人 miuchibito) stronger. In 1256 Tokiyori separated the positions of shikken and tokuso for the first time. Because of illness, he installed his infant son Tokimune as the tokuso while Nagatoki, a collateral relative, was appointed as the shikken to assist Tokimune. Since them tokuso became more powerful than shikken.