A confrontation between the Tokugawa shogunate and the Imperial Court began when the Emperor granted permission for monks from two temples to wear purple robes.
Purple robes were traditionally reserved for only the most virtuous priests, and the Shogunate declared the Emperor's decree invalid, as he had not consulted with them beforehand.
The confrontation is believed to have contributed to Emperor Go-Mizunoo's abdication in 1629, and is a noted example of the control of the Shogunate over the Imperial Court in the early Edo period.
[2] In 1626, Emperor Gomizunoo allowed monks from Daitokuji and Myoshinji temples to wear purple robes, which were traditionally reserved for highly virtuous priests.
The shogunate promptly declared the bestowing of the garments invalid and ordered the Kyoto Shoshidai to confiscate the robes.
[3]: 114 The confrontation between the imperial court and the Shogunate was so severe that it is believed to have contributed to Emperor Go-Mizunoo's decision to abdicate the throne.
They were tried for sedition at Edo Castle in front of Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada and Takuan was banished to Kaminoyama in Dewa Province.
For the rest of his long life, Go-Mizuno-in concentrated on various aesthetic projects and interests, of which perhaps the best-known are the magnificent Japanese gardens of the Shugakuin Imperial Villa.
[3]: 114 A few years after the Purple Robe Incident, in 1634, Iemitsu entered Kyoto in a grand manner, displaying the Shogunate's overwhelming power, and had an audience with Empress Meishō at the Imperial Court.