Hōgen Rebellion

Part of Clan disputes of the Heian period

Hōgen no ran battle screen

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

The Hōgen Rebellion (保元の乱, Hōgen no ran^?, July 28 – August 16, 1156) was a short civil war fought in order to resolve a dispute about Japanese Imperial succession. 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.

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.

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.

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. The opposing groups were also contending over continuation of cloistered government.

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Wikipedia