Matsushita Zenni (松下禅尼)
Matsushita zenni (the Buddhist nun "Matsushita," year of birth and death unknown) was a woman in the middle of the Kamakura period. She was the daughter of Kagemori ADACHI, an immediate vassal of the Kamakura shogunate. She was the wife of Tokiuji HOJO. She was the mother of both the 4th regent Tsunetoki HOJO and the 7th regent Tokiyori HOJO. She also gave birth to Tokisada HOJO.
In 1224, accompanying her husband Tokiuji who became the chief of Rokuhara Tandai (the administrative and judicial agency in Rokuhara, Kyoto), she went up to Kyoto. Later, she returned to Kamakura, and after Tokiuji's death in 1230, she became a Buddhist nun and began to live in the residence of Amanawa, her parents' home. "Tsurezuregusa" (Essays in Idleness) mentions at the paragraph number 184 an anecdote that she herself repaired the paper sliding door and taught the spirit of frugality to Tokiyori, and this anecdote was also picked up by the textbook of Japanese-language in the Showa period.
The 8th regent Tokimune HOJO was born in the residence of Amanawa where Matsusita zenni lived.
Her death year is unknown, but at least, she was gone before November (or December) in 1282.