Fujiwara no Michinori (藤原 通憲, 1106 – January 23, 1160), also known as Shinzei (信西), was a Buddhist monk in late Heian period Japan.
Enmity towards him led to the Heiji Rebellion of 1159, in which he died early in the conflict.
[1] As the head of the leading faction at Court, Shinzei enjoyed access to the emperor and other privileges which his rival Fujiwara no Nobuyori envied.
In early 1160, Shinzei's ally Taira no Kiyomori left the capital with much of his family, thus providing Nobuyori's faction (and his allies, the Minamoto clan) to make a move for power.
Some believe this may have been intentional on Kiyomori's part, laying a trap for the Minamoto.