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Beginning of Retired Emperor Shirakawa's Insei Rule
In 1068 Emperor Go-Sanjō ascended, the first emperor in nearly two centuries without Fujiwara Hokke consort lineage, and enacted Enkyū estate reforms…
Timeline
- 1068Heian-kyō (Dairi) · JapanPrince Takahito ascended as Emperor Go-Sanjō, breaking the Fujiwara Hokke's long practice of controlling the throne through consort status, and began an attempt at direct imperial rule; his son Prince Sadahito (Emperor Go-Shirakawa) was then crown prince.
- 1069Heian-kyō · JapanGo-Sanjō issued the Enkyū estate survey order, restricting illegal estate expansion and reclaiming estate tax revenues, directly challenging the regents and temple-shrine powers' land control, and accumulating fiscal and legal resources for later retired-emperor politics.
- 1072–1073Heian-kyō · JapanGo-Sanjō yielded the throne to Crown Prince Sadahito (Emperor Shirakawa) while continuing to intervene in government as a retired emperor, setting a precedent for abdicated emperors retaining real power; Shirakawa abdicated again in 1086, formally establishing the insei system.
Sources
- Cloistered rule — Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloistered_rule
- The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 2: Heian Japan (Insei chapter) — Cameron Hurst (1999)