was a samurai of the Hōjō clan

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...

 who fought both for and against the Imperial Court. His father was Hōjō Takatoki

Hojo Takatoki

Hōjō Takatoki was the last Tokuso and ruling Shikken of Japan's Kamakura shogunate; the latter ones were his puppets, a member of the Hōjō clan, he was the son of Hōjō Sadatoki, and was preceded as shikken by Hōjō Morotoki.Takatoki became regent at the age of eight, and thus actual power was...

, last Regent

Shikken

The was the regent for the shogun in the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. The post was monopolized by the Hōjō clan, and this system only existed once in Japanese history, between 1203 and 1333...

 and de facto ruler 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...

.

Tokiyuki had fought against both the Imperial forces and those of the Ashikaga in order to save the Kamakura shogunate, of which his clan had been the ruler for over a century. After the 1333 siege of Kamakura

Siege of Kamakura (1333)

The 1333 siege of Kamakura was a battle of the Genkō War, and marked the end of the power of the Hōjō clan, which had dominated the regency of the Kamakura shogunate for over a century...

, his father's seppuku

Seppuku

is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...

 and the almost complete destruction of his family, he escaped to Shinano province

Shinano Province

or is an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano Prefecture.Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces...

 and the home of Suwa Yorishige

Suwa Yorishige

For the samurai by the same name who died in 1335, see Suwa Yorishige .' was a Japanese samurai....

, where he gathered an army with which to return and try to regain power. He re-entered Kamakura

Kamakura, Kanagawa

is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...

 in 1335, forcing Ashikaga Tadayoshi

Ashikaga Tadayoshi

was a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period of Japanese history and a close associate of his elder brother Takauji, the first Muromachi shogun. Son of Ashikaga Sadauji and of a daughter of Uesugi Yorishige, the same mother as Takauji, he was a pivotal figure of the chaotic transition...

 to flee before he was forced to flee himself by Tadayoshi's elder brother and future shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

 Ashikaga Takauji

Ashikaga Takauji

was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...

.

Shortly after his defeat, Tokiyuki asked to be pardoned by Emperor Go-Daigo

Emperor Go-Daigo

Emperor Go-Daigo was the 96th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession....

, and formally entered into the service of the Southern Court

Southern Court

The were a set of four emperors whose legitimate claims were usurped during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392. In spite of the legitimacy of its claims to the throne, the Southern Court was permanently replaced in 1392 by the illegitimate Northern Court.-Nanboku-chō overview:...

, fighting under the command of Kitabatake Akiie

Kitabatake Akiie

was a Japanese court noble, and an important supporter of the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō Wars. He also held the posts of Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North, and Governor of Mutsu Province...

, and later Prince Munenaga. He also aided in the 1352 recapture of Kamakura, led by Nitta Yoshioki

Nitta Yoshioki

Nitta Yoshioki was a samurai of the Nitta family, who fought for the Imperial Southern Court in the Nanboku-cho period of Japanese history. He was the second son of Nitta Yoshisada....

. However, when Nitta was pursued by Ashikaga Takauji and sought refuge in Echigo Province

Echigo Province

was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It was sometimes called , with Echizen and Etchū Provinces. Today the area is part of Niigata Prefecture, which also includes the island which was the old Sado Province. This province was the northernmost part of the...

, Tokiyuki fled to 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...

, where he was discovered and beheaded by forces loyal to the Ashikaga.