Wakasa no Tsubone (若狭局)
Wakasa no Tsubone (year of birth unknown - 1203) was a woman who lived during the early Kamakura period. She was a daughter of Yoshikazu HIKI, a gokenin (an immediate vassal of the shogunate in the Kamakura and Muromachi through Edo periods) of the Kamakura bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun). She was a concubine of the second Shogun of the Kamakura bakufu, MINAMOTO no Yoriie. She was the mother of Yoriie's legitimate son, MINAMOTO no Ichiman. It is said that Take no Gosho was also her biological son.
Her father Yoshikazu was a nephew of Hikinoama, a wet nurse of the first Shogun MINAMOTO no Yoritomo, and through the connection he got the position to nurture Yoritomo's legitimate son, Yoriie. After she became Yoriie's concubine, she gave birth to their first son, Ichiman, in 1198 when Yoriie was 17.
When Ichiman turned six in September 1203, Yoriie, who had been ill in bed, fell into critical condition, then the Conspiracy of Yoshikazu HIKI occurred due to the rivalry between the Hiki clan on Wakasa no Tsubone's side and the Hojo clan, Yoriie's maternal relative, over the succession to the position of family head. After Yoshikazu was murdered by Tokimasa HOJO on October 15, the Hiki family was informed of Yoshikazu's death and took refuge in Kogosho, Ichiman's residence. However, the Hiki family was attacked by a large number of army led by Yoshitoki HOJO, then the members of Hiki clan set fire to the residence to commit suicide, which led to extinction of the family. "Azuma Kagami" (The Mirror of the East) describes that Ichiman and Wakasa no Tsubone were burned to death at that time, while "Gukansho" (Jottings of a Fool) mentions that she escaped the attack with Ichiman in her arms, yet to be stabbed to death by the hand of Yoshitoki HOJO's retainers in December.