was the son of
Hōjō Ujitsuna and a ''daimyō'' (warlord) 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.
Ogigayatsu Tomosada tried unsuccessfully to take
Edo Castle, and a few years later, in
1545, an army led by
Ashikaga Haruuji and
Uesugi Norimasa besieged
Kawagoe Castle (see
Siege of Kawagoe). Ujiyasu's brother
Tsunashige was outnumbered more than 10-1, and Ujiyasu led a relief force. He slipped a samurai past the enemy lines to inform his brother of the enemy's approach, and made use of
ninja to learn of the enemy's strategy and attitude. Using this intelligence, he led a night attack against the Ashikaga/Uesugi force. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Hōjō army defeated the besiegers because, under Ujiyasu's orders, they were not bulked down by heavy armor, and were not slowed down by seeking to take heads. This battle proved the end of the Uesugi line, until
Uesugi Kenshin, who had been adopted into the line.
Hōjō Ujiyasu expanded the Hōjō territory, which now covered five provinces, and managed and maintained what his father and grandfather had held. He took
Kōnodai in
Shimousa Province in
1564 following a battle against
Satomi Yoshihiro. Towards the end of his life he saw the first major conflicts between his own clan and
Takeda Shingen, who would become one of the greatest warlords of the period. Shingen came into
Musashi Province from his home province of
Kai, attacking
Hachigata and
Takiyama Castles, where Ujiyasu's sons repulsed them. However, despite the intact castles behind him, Shingen pressed on to the Hōjō central home castle of
Odawara, burning the castle town and withdrawing after three days. Two of Ujiyasu's seven sons fought Takeda at the
battle of Mimasetoge in
1569, ending the first of the Takeda campaigns against the Hōjō.
Ujiyasu died in
1571, passing on the Hōjō domains and the problem of Takeda Shingen to his eldest son
Hōjō Ujimasa.
Reference
★ Turnbull, Stephen (2002). 'War in Japan: 1467-1615'. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.