Fujiwara no Michinori

nihongo|Fujiwara no Michinori|藤原通憲|(d. 1160), also known as nihongo|Shinzei|信西|, was one of the chief advisors to Emperor Nijō, and one of the chief allies to Taira no Kiyomori, particularly during the Heiji Rebellion of 1159.

As the head of the successful faction at Court, Shinzei enjoyed access to the emperor and other privileges which Fujiwara no Nobuyori envied. In early 1160, Shinzei's ally Taira no Kiyomori left the capital along with much of his family, thus providing Nobuyori's faction (and his allies, the Minamoto clan) to make a move for power. Some claim this may have been intentional on Taira's part, as a trap for the Minamoto.

Nobuyori and the Minamoto set fire to the Sanjō Palace, and abducted both Emperor Nijō and the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa. They then turned on Shinzei's own home, destroying it and killing all those inside, with the exception of Shinzei himself, who escaped only to be captured and decapitated soon afterwards.

References

*Sansom, George (1958). 'A History of Japan to 1334'. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.