Hōjō Ujimasa

Hōjō Ujimasa (Japanese北 条 氏 政; * 1538, † 1590) was a ruler in Japan. He was head of a clan ( uji ), the Later Hōjō and during the Sengoku period daimyo at the Castle Odawara. At times, he was an ally of Takeda Shingen. Hōjō Ujimasa led many battles with the aim to strengthen the position of his clan. In 1590 he handed over power to his son Hōjō Ujinao. Later this year, but it failed in an attempt to defend against the attack of Odawara, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. This Ujimasa was just like his brother Ujiteru forced to commit ritual suicide in the form of seppuku.

As is traditional, also composed for the occasion Ujimasa a death poem:

雨雲 の おほえる 月 も 胸 の 霧 も はらい に けり な 秋 の 夕 風

Autumn wind on the eve Blas ' away the clouds that coalesce pure before the moon light. And the mists which cloud our mind, also from now on they sweep.

我 身 今 消ゆ と や いかに おもふ へき 空 より き たり 空 に 帰れ ば

Now we pass So what we need to think about it? From the sky we came Now we may return This is ultimately a matter of viewpoint.