Ujikuni Hōjō

Ujikuni Hōjō is Ujiyasu's fourth son. Ujikuni served as lord of Hachigata Castle and played a key part in negotiations with the Uesugi. During the Odawara Campaign, Ujikuni held Hachigata in an attempt to force the Toyotomi to spread themselves out in multiple sieges. Ujikuni survived the campaign and entered under the care of Toshiie Maeda as a monk until his death seven years later.

Role in Games
Ujikuni first appears in Samurai Warriors at Odawara Castle, where he defends the second floor of the castle with Ujinori. In the Xtreme Legends expansion, Yoshimoto Imagawa invades much earlier in the timeline and encounters Ujikuni with his brothers, Ujimasa and Ujiteru at the entrance of the second floor.

Samurai Warriors 3 expands Ujikuni's role. He appears at Mimase Pass, surrounded by Shingen Takeda's army. Ujiyasu rushes to his aid, and his rescue boosts the Hōjō's morale enough to enable Ujiteru's rescue as well. At Oshi Castle, Ujikuni protects the embankments the Hōjō are using to build up a flood attack against the Toyotomi forces. During his clan's final showdown at Odawara Castle, Ujikuni defends the southeast section of the castle.

In Samurai Warriors 4, Ujikuni protects his home in the Kantō campaign, holding off Uesugi officers at the southwestern ward. Kenshin Uesugi will eventually punch through his and his brothers' defense. Both Ujikuni and Ujiteru once more need rescuing at Mimase Pass. Ujikuni appears at Kannagawa as well, initially leading the Hōjō forces trying to take the Oda lands. He successfully captures Gunbei garrison, and will eventually sally out to the south to fight to Sanada forces coming to the Oda's aid. At the climatic Odawara Castle, Ujikuni once more defends the southwestern ward from Hideyoshi's forces.

In the Nobunaga's Ambition series, Ujikuni is a part of his clan's scenarios. His stats favor combat, with respectable 70-80s in both stats. However, unlike his older brothers, Ujikuni's political and governing abilities are just a bit above middling.

Quotes

 * Surrounded… Then we must fight to the bitter end. My father would want it so."
 * "Those fools - They’ll get themselves killed.."
 * Thank you father. It is an honor to have you fight with us.
 * I won’t have to risk your lives anymore. Fall back. That's an order.
 * Ujikuni and Ujiyasu; Samurai Warriors 3

Historical Information
Hōjō Ujikuni was the fourth son of Hōjō Ujiyasu. There is some small debate on the exact order of Ujiyasu's children, as an older legal list of children placed Ujikuni beneath Hōjō Ukinori and their adopted brother Hōjō Ujitada. This legal list contradicts the later inheritance list produced by the Hōjō Ujimasa. Such a change in legal order of inheritance is a fairly uncommon practice during this time period, so it is hypothisized that this discrepency comes from Ujikuni's time as head of a subordinate clan and thus not the best choice as next in line behind Ujimasa (Hōjō Ujiteru was in a similar situation). Generally speaking, Ujikuni remains considered the fourth son of Ujiyasu.

In 1558, Hōjō Ujikuni was taken on as the son of Fujita Yasukuni and married his daughter, Daifuku. Taking on the family name of Fujita, Ujikuni served his family in this area in Musashi province. During this time, Ujitkuni built Hachigata castle, which caused those around to remake the land he managed after his castle. When Yasukuni passed away, Ujikuni had conflict with his two younger adopted younger brothers as they came of age. Eventually Ujikuni put the elder of the two, Yado Shigetsura to death and forced the younger, Nobuyoshi, to serve a differnt clan than the Hōjō.

When Takeda Shingen began his campaign into the Hōjō lands, Ujikuni united with Ujiteru to take back the passes that Shingen used to access their lands. Both brothers attempted to ambush and pincer the Tiger of Kai in 1569 at Mimase Pass. Unfortunately for their plans, Shingen got wind of their scheme and he managed to get soldiers behind them, higher up on the pass, and caught them both in his own pincer attack. Ujiyasu and Ujimasa led a relief force and forced Shingen back into his own lands.

Ujikuni played a key role in negotiations with the Uesugi after the end of the Takeda's invasion. He worked with the Uesugi officer Yura Narishige to form their Kosho alliance. When the alliance fell apart several years later, Ujikuni played a key role in capturing parts of Kozuki Province. During the Otate Rebellion in 1578, Ujikuni and Ujiteru rushed to aid their younger brother's claim to rule the Uesugi clan. The two were able to capture Kabasawa Castle and even lay siege to Sakado Castle, Uesugi Kagekatsu's base castle. However, winter set in and forced them to withdraw for the season. Kagekatsu took advantage of that time to besiege, capture, and kill Ujikuni's brother, ending the civil war.

Ujikuni returned to his old family name in 1576 and continued to help the Hōjō expand their influence. He fought at Kannagawa in 1582 and the Tensho-Jingo Campaign that followed. In the following year, Ujikuni adopted his nephew, Hōjō Naosada, as his sons had unfortunately not survived to adulthood.

When Totoyomi Hideyoshi was looking for an excuse to invade the Hōjō lands, it was Hōjō Ujikuni's subordinate Inomata Kuninori helped a rebellious Nakayama Kurabei seize the last major castle of the Numata territory. This violated Hideyoshi's decree and gave him the excuse to invade the Hōjō lands. When the Hōjō gathered to debate how to defend against such overwhelming odds, only Ujikuni favored keeping their many major castles well armed and forcing the Toyotomi to spread themselves out to keep each fort locked down. As a result, Ujikuni fought in the Odawara campaign at his castle of Hachigata.

Hōjō Ujikuni endured an extremely fierce offensive against his castle. It did not take long for him to see how hopeless the situation was and ordered a surrender in the face of such overwhelming forces. Part of the conditions of his surrender required Ujikuni to become a buddist priest, giving up all political power. Maeda Toshiie was given charge over Ujikuni, who served Toshiie loyally until 1597, when he passed away. Legend claims that the number of attendants for his funeral ran longer than the height of the mountain he lived at in his temple.

Ujikuni, along with his brother Ujiteru, is often remembered for his skill in military and governing affairs. Both brothers increased their clan's prestige and might significantly. Ujikuni himself founded a strong silk trade in his lands and undertook multiple projects that increased their prosperity. However, while Ujiteru is remembered for his diplomacy, Ujikuni is often thought of as more violent than his brothers, especially in light of killing Yado Shigetsura and risking the seizure of Nagurumi Castle and skirting Hideyoshi's laws.

Gallery
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