Hōjō clan
Japan was then ruled by the Shikken (shogunate regents) of the Hōjō clan, who had intermarried with and wrested control from Minamoto no Yoriie, "shōgun" of the Kamakura shogunate, after his death in 1203. The inner circle of the Hōjō clan had become so pre-eminent that they no longer consulted the council of the shogunate (), the Imperial Court of Kyoto, or their gokenin vassals, and they made their decisions at private meetings in their residences ().