Who Is Hōjō Masako?
Yoritomo's wife, who spoke up for Shizuka
Hōjō Masako is the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo and a central figure of the Kamakura shogunate, later called the ama shōgun, or "nun shogun."
She asks to see Lady Shizuka dance after Shizuka is brought to Kamakura. When Shizuka sings of her longing for Yoshitsune and Yoritomo flies into a rage, Masako calms him by recalling how she herself, as a young woman, ran to Yoritomo against her parents' wishes, saying that Shizuka's feelings are only natural for a woman.
After Yoritomo's death she held great power as a pillar of the shogunate, and she is also known for rallying the Kamakura vassals during the Jōkyū War.
