Hogen Disturbance

• Date: 1156
• Japanese: 保元の乱 (Hougen no ran)

The Hôgen Disturbance or Hôgen Rebellion was a conflict between the Retired Emperor Sutoku and reigning Emperor Go-Shirakawa for power. Along with the Heiji Disturbance of 1159 and Genpei War of 1180-1185, it represents the beginning of the rise of the samurai class.

The forces loyal to Sutoku were led by Minamoto no Tameyoshi, while those loyal to Go-Shirakawa were led by Taira no Kiyomori, and by Tameyoshi's brother, Minamoto no Yoshitomo. While members of the Minamoto and Taira clans fought on both sides in this conflict, its resolution set up the conditions for the development of a rivalry between the two clans.

The conflict ended in victory for Go-Shirakawa, while the defeated Emperor Sutoku was exiled to Sanuki province in Shikoku. Kiyomori gained considerable political power in the process, further cementing his power by defeating his former ally Minamoto no Yoshitomo three years later in the Heiji Disturbance.

References

• Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, and Suzanne Gay, A Brief History of Japanese Civilization, Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 71.