Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period compared to both the Kamakura shoguns, or the Imperial Court in Kyoto, whose authority was largely symbolic.

After the death of Yoritomo, Tokimasa appointed himself as shikken (regent) to the former shōgun's young son, thus effectively transferring control of the shogunate to his clan permanently.

The Imperial court at Kyoto resented the decline in its authority during the Kamakura shogunate, while the clan, in turn, came to despise the weak Emperor Go-Toba.

The Hōjō forces easily won the war; the imperial court was brought under the direct control of the shogunate, while the emperor was exiled "to a remote island off western Japan.

While legal practices in Kyoto were still based on 500-year-old Confucian principles, the new code was a highly legalistic document that stressed the duties of stewards and constables, provided means for settling land disputes, and established rules governing inheritances.