, also known as , was an aristocratic Confucian scholar and Buddhist monk in late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

Japan. He was one of the chief advisors to

Emperor Nijō was the 78th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1158 through 1165. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his ''imina'') was Morihito''-sh ...

, and one of the chief allies of

Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first so ...

, particularly during the Heiji Rebellion of 1159. 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. Nobuyori and the Minamoto set fire to the Sanjō Palace and abducted both Emperor Nijō and the

cloistered A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against ...

Emperor Go-Shirakawa was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''ins ...

. They then turned on Shinzei's home, destroying it and killing all those inside, with the exception of Shinzei himself, who escaped only to be captured in the mountains near

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

and decapitated soon afterward.

References

*Reischauer, Edwin O., and Joseph K. Yamagiwa, eds. and trans. (1951). ''Translations from Early Japanese Literature''. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Includes a partial translation of ''Heiji monogatari'', an account of the Heiji Rebellion. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujiwara no, Michinori 1106 births 1160 deaths Fujiwara clan People of Heian-period Japan Heian period Buddhist clergy