The was one of the most powerful warrior clans in Japan in the Sengoku period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

 and held domains primarily in the Kantō region.

The clan is traditionally reckoned to be started by Ise Shinkurō, who came from a branch of the prestigious Ise clan, a family in the direct employment of the Ashikaga Shoguns. During the succession crisis in the 15th century, Shinkuro became associated with the Imagawa clan via the marriage of his sister to the Imagawa head, who led an army to Kyoto. Through this relationship Shinkuro was able to quickly established a base of power in Kanto.

His son wanted his lineage to have a more illustrious name, and chose Hōjō

Hojo clan

See the late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate. In practice, the family had actual governmental power, many times dictatorial, rather than Kamakura shoguns, or the...

, after the line of regents of the Kamakura shogunate

Kamakura shogunate

The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...

, to which his wife also belonged. So he became Hōjō Ujitsuna

Hojo Ujitsuna

was the son of Hōjō Sōun, founder of the Go-Hōjō clan. He continued his father's quest to gain control of the Kantō ....

, and his father, Ise Shinkurō, was posthumously renamed Hōjō Sōun

Hojo Soun

was the first head of the Late Hōjō clan, one of the major powers in Japan's Sengoku period. Born Ise Moritoki, he was originally known as Ise Shinkurō, a samurai of Taira lineage from a reputable family of Shogunate officials...

.

The Late Hōjō, sometimes known as the Odawara Hōjō after their home castle of Odawara

Odawara Castle

is a landmark in the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.-History:Odawara was a stronghold of the Doi clan during the Kamakura period, and a fortified residence was built by their collateral branch, the Kobayakawa clan stood on the approximate site of the present castle...

 in Sagami Province

Sagami Province

was an old province in the area that is today the central and western Kanagawa prefecture. It was sometimes called . Sagami bordered on Izu, Musashi, Suruga provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Sagami Bay...

, were not related to the earlier Hōjō clan. Their power rivaled that of the Tokugawa clan

Tokugawa clan

The was a powerful daimyo family of Japan. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa and were a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Nitta clan. However, the early history of this clan remains a mystery.-History:...

, but eventually Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

 eradicated the power of the Hōjō in the Siege of Odawara (1590)

Siege of Odawara (1590)

The third ' occurred in 1590, and was the primary action in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaign to eliminate the Hōjō clan as a threat to his power. The months leading up to it saw hasty but major improvements in the defense of the castle, as Hideyoshi's intentions became clear...

, banishing Hōjō Ujinao

Hojo Ujinao

Hōjō Ujinao was a Japanese daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and the final head of the Late Hōjō clan. An important figure in the history of Azuchi-Momoyama politics, he lost his entire domain following the siege in 1590...

 and his wife Toku Hime

Toku Hime (1565–1615)

Toku-hime was a princess during the Sengoku and Edo periods of Japanese history. She was the second daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu; her mother was Lady Nishigori , one of Ieyasu's concubines...

 (a daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu

 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

) to Mount Kōya

Mount Koya

is the name of mountains in Wakayama Prefecture to the south of Osaka. Also, Kōya-san is a modifying word for Kongōbuji . There is no one mountain officially called Kōya-san in Japan....

, where Ujinao died in 1591.
The heads of the Late Hōjō clan were

• Hōjō Sōun
  Hojo Soun
  was the first head of the Late Hōjō clan, one of the major powers in Japan's Sengoku period. Born Ise Moritoki, he was originally known as Ise Shinkurō, a samurai of Taira lineage from a reputable family of Shogunate officials...
  
   (1432–1519)
• Hōjō Ujitsuna
  Hojo Ujitsuna
  was the son of Hōjō Sōun, founder of the Go-Hōjō clan. He continued his father's quest to gain control of the Kantō ....
  
   (1487–1541), son of Sōun
• Hōjō Ujiyasu
  Hojo Ujiyasu
  was the son of Hōjō Ujitsuna and a daimyō of the Odawara Hōjō clan.Upon his father's death in 1541, a number of the Hōjō's enemies sought to take advantage of the opportunity to seize major Hōjō strongholds...
  
   (1515–1571), son of Ujitsuna
• Hōjō Ujimasa
  Hojo Ujimasa
  was the fourth head of the late Hōjō clan, and daimyo of Odawara.Ujimasa commanded in many battles, consolidating his clan's position, and retired in 1590. His son Hōjō Ujinao became head of the clan and lord of Odawara, but later that year they failed to hold Odawara against the forces of Toyotomi...
  
   (1538–1590), son of Ujiyasu
• Hōjō Ujinao
  Hojo Ujinao
  Hōjō Ujinao was a Japanese daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and the final head of the Late Hōjō clan. An important figure in the history of Azuchi-Momoyama politics, he lost his entire domain following the siege in 1590...
  
  (1562–1591), son of Ujimasa