Hōgen Rebellion

Part of Clan disputes of the Heian period

Date	July 28-August 16, 1156
Location	Kyōto, Japan
Result	Victory for Emperor Go-Shirakawa; establishment of Minamoto-Taira rivalry

Belligerents

Forces loyal to Emperor Go-Shirakawa

Forces loyal to retired Emperor Sutoku

Commanders and leaders

Fujiwara no Tadamichi, Taira no Kiyomori, Minamoto no Yoshitomo

Fujiwara no Yorinaga, Minamoto no Tameyoshi, Taira no Tadamasa

Strength

Unknown

Unknown, incl. 600 cavalry

Conflicts of the Heian period

Zenkunen War Gosannen War Hōgen Rebellion Heiji Rebellion Genpei War

The Hōgen Rebellion (保元の乱, Hōgen no ran^?, July 28-August 16, 1156)^[1] was a short civil war fought in order to resolve a dispute about Japanese Imperial succession.^[2] The dispute was also about the degree of control exercised by the Fujiwara clan who had become hereditary Imperial regents during the Heian period.

Hōgen no ran produced a series of unanticipated consequences. It created a foundation from which the dominance of the samurai clans would come to be established. It is considered the beginning in a chain of events which would produce the first of three samurai-led governments in the history of Japan.

1 Context
2 Combat
3 Outcome
- 3.1 Legacy
4 Notes
5 References
- 5.1 See also

Context

A simmering power struggle in the Imperial court was focused on three figures in 1155. After the former Emperor Toba and the former Emperor Sutoku abdicated, each intended to continue to wield various kinds of power behind the throne during the reign of Emperor Konoe; however, when young Konoe died, the dynamics of the contending factions changed.

August 23, 1155 (Kyūju 2, 24th day of the 7th month) : In the 14th year of Konoe-tennō 's reign (近衛天皇14年), the emperor died; and despite an ensuing dispute over who should follow him as sovereign, contemporary scholars then construed that the succession (senso) was received by a younger brother, the 14th son of former-Emperor Toba. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Go-Shirakawa is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).^[3]

When Go-Shirakawa ascended the Chrysanthemum throne, a new phase of this multi-faceted power struggle began to unfold. A bitter dispute between two of Toba's sons was paralleled by divisions within the several kuge families and others. Toba had forced one of his sons to abdicate in favor of the son of another consort; and after 1142, former Emperor Sutoku harbored the expectation that his son would follow Emperor Konoe on the throne. Sutoku's hopes were frustrated by the elevation of another brother who would become known as Go-Shirakawa.^[4]

July 20, 1156 (Hōgen 1, 2nd day of the 7th month): The former-Emperor Toba died at the age of 54.^[5]

After the death of the Toba, forces loyal to reigning Emperor Go-Shirakawa and the forces supporting retired former Emperor Sutoku disputed the accession of Go-Shirakawa and his continued possession of the throne.^[5] The opposing groups were also contending over continuation of cloistered government.

Combat

Go-Shirakawa and Sutoku were rival sons of Toba. Fujiwara no Tadamichi, first son of regent Fujiwara no Tadazane, sided with Go-Shirakawa while his younger brother Fujiwara no Yorinaga sided with Sutoku. Each rival side in turn beckoned the Minamoto and Taira clans of samurai. Minamoto no Tameyoshi, head of the Minamoto clan, and Taira no Tadamasa sided with Sutoku and Yorinaga while on the other hand Minamoto no Yoshitomo, first son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi, and Taira no Kiyomori, head of the Taira clan and nephew of Taira no Tadamasa, sided with Go-Shirakawa and Tadamichi.

July 28, 1156 (Hōgen 1, 10th day of the 7th month): Both forces faced each other in Kyōto. On the Sutoku side, Minamoto no Tametomo (son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi) suggested a night attack on an enemy palace, but Fujiwara no Yorinaga rejected this strategy. Meanwhile, their enemy Minamoto no Yoshitomo suggested the same, and followed through on it.

July 29, 1156 (Hōgen 1, 11th day of the 7th month): At night, Kiyomori and Yoshitomo led 600 cavalry and attacked a palace of Sutoku. Kiyomori attacked West gate where Tametomo protected. Tametomo repulsed Kiyomori's force by his outstanding archery. Then Yoshitomo attacked Tametomo but also he was repulsed. Sutoku's samurai fought hard, and a fierce battle continued.

Yoshitomo suggested that they set aflame the enemy palace. This was done and, fighting both the flames and Go-Shirakawa's forces, the Sutoku's samurai fled leaving Go-Shirakawa's allies victorious on the battlefield.

Outcome

The forces of reigning Emperor Go-Shirakawa went on to defeat the forces of former Emperor Sutoku. This made way for Go-Shirakawa to abdicate while still continuing to exercise unfettered Imperial powers. Go-Shirakawa become the new cloistered emperor in 1158, and he would continue to exercise power throughout the reigns of five emperors — (Emperor Nijō, Emperor Rokujō, Emperor Takakura, Emperor Antoku, and Emperor Go-Toba) — until his death in 1192. Sutoku was banished to Sanuki province of Shikoku, Fujiwara no Yorinaga was killed in battle, and Minamoto no Tameyoshi and Taira no Tadamasa were executed. Tametomo survived the battlefield and was forced to flee. Minamoto no Yoshitomo became head of the Minamoto after the death of his father and together with Taira no Kiyomori, succeeded in establishing the two samurai clans as major new political powers in Kyōto.

Legacy

The outcome of the Hōgen Rebellion and the rivalry established between the Minamoto and Taira clans led to the Heiji Rebellion in 1159.^[6]

The Kamakura period epic Tale of the Disturbance in Hōgen is about the exploits of the samurai that participated in the Hōgen Rebellion.^[5] Together with the Tale of the Disturbance in Heiji and the Tale of Heike, these war stories (gunki monogatari) describe the rise and fall of the Minamoto and Taira samurai clans.^[7]

Notes

^ Kitagawa, Hiroshi et al. (1975). The Tale of the Heike, p. 783
^ In the name "Hōgen Rebellion," the noun "Hōgen" refers to the nengō (Japanese era name) after "Kyūju" and before "Heiji." In other words, the Hōgen Rebellion occurred during Hōgen, which was a time period spanning the years from 1156 through 1159.
^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 189. at Google Books; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 326; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
^ Keene, Donald. (1999) Seeds in the Heart, pp. 616-623. at Google Books
^ ^a ^b ^c Keene, p. 616. at Google Books; Kitagawa, p. 783.
^ In the name "Heiji Rebellion," the noun "Heiji" refers to the nengō (Japanese era name) after "Hōgen" and before "Eiryaku." In other words, the Heiji Rebellion occurred during Heiji, which was a time period spanning the years from 1159 through 1160.
^ Sidensticker, Edward. (1975). The Tale of the Heike (Kitagawa et al., editors). pp. xiv-xix.

References

Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. 10-ISBN 0-520-03460-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; OCLC 251325323
Keene, Donald. (1999). Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Literature from Earliest Times to the Late Sixteenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press. 10-ISBN 0231114419/13-ISBN 9780231114417; OCLC 246429887
Kitagawa, Hiroshi and Bruce T. Tsuchida. (1975). The Tale of the Heike. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. OCLC 262297615
Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. 10-ISBN 0-231-04940-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842