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1 results

  • 9 - Insei

  • Edited by Donald H. Shively, University of California, Berkeley, William H. McCullough, University of California, Berkeley
  • Book:
    The Cambridge History of Japan
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    28 July 1999, pp 576-643

  • Summary

    In late Heian times, the retired sovereigns Shirakawa, Toba, and Go-Shirakawa dominated the court as few former sovereigns, reigning or retired, had done. Later historians referred to this form of political domination as insei or cloister government, a term derived from the fact that abdicated emperors resided in well-appointed villas or religious cloisters (in) from which they conducted politics (sei). Besides rifts in two most important noble houses, there was a serious split in one of the major warrior leagues of the day, the Seiwa branch of the Minamoto. The Seiwa Genji, along with the newly risen Taira, was heavily relied upon as the military arm of the Heian court. Yoshitomo and his father Tameyoshi were engaged in a dispute over the position of Minamoto warrior hegemon. One of the sources of Taira power in late Heian times was wealth obtained through control of the China trade, which initially began on a private basis.