[2] The dispute was also about the degree of control exercised by the Fujiwara clan who had become hereditary Imperial regents during the Heian period.

It is considered the beginning in a chain of events which would produce the first of three samurai-led governments in the history of Japan.

When Go-Shirakawa ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, a new phase of this multi-faceted power struggle began to unfold.

A bitter dispute between two of Toba's sons was paralleled by divisions within the several kuge families and others.

Each rival side in turn beckoned the Minamoto and Taira clans of samurai.

Sutoku was banished to Sanuki Province of Shikoku; Fujiwara no Yorinaga was killed in battle, and Minamoto no Tameyoshi and Taira no Tadamasa were executed.