was a Japanese history book written in the early

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first '' shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

, narrating events in chronological order. The ''Rokudai'', meaning six generations, refers to the six reigns of Emperors Takakura,

Antoku was the 81st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185. During this time, the Imperial family was involved in a bitter struggle between warring clans. Minamoto no Yor ...

Go-Toba was the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198. This 12th-century sovereign was named after Emperor Toba, and ''go-'' (後), translates literally as "later"; an ...

Tsuchimikado was the 83rd emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 土御門天皇 (83)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan,'' pp. 86–87. Tsuchimikado's reig ...

, Juntoku, and

Go-Horikawa (March 22, 1212 – August 31, 1234) was the 86th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1221 CE through 1232 CE. This 13th-century sovereign was named after the 10th-century Empero ...

. The ''Rokudai'' was written between the fifth month of 1223 and the end of 1224, beginning with the 1156

Hōgen rebellion In Japanese, Hōgen may refer to several words. Among them: * Hōgen (era) (保元, 1156–1159), an era in Japan * Hōgen rebellion, a short civil war in 1156 * dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'di ...

and ends with a description of the punishments meted out to those involved in the

Jōkyū War , also known as the Jōkyū Disturbance or the Jōkyū Rebellion, was fought in Japan between the forces of Retired Emperor Go-Toba and those of the Hōjō clan, regents of the Kamakura shogunate, whom the retired emperor was trying to overthr ...

. Hirota, Akiko (1989). Ex-Emperor Go-Toba: A study in personality, politics and poetry (PhD thesis). University of California Los Angeles.

Minamoto no Mitsuyuki Minamoto no Mitsuyuki (源光行 1163–1244) was governor in Kawachi province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was al ...

was long considered to be the author; recently, historians have argued that

Fujiwara no Tadataka , first son of regent Matsudono Motofusa, was a '' Kugyō'' (high-ranking Japanese official) of the late Heian and Kamakura periods. Despite being first-born, he was treated as if he were not, while his stepbrother Moroie inherited the male-li ...

, who was retired at the time the book was written, is a more likely candidate. The book contends that

Emperor Go-Toba was the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198. This 12th-century sovereign was named after Emperor Toba, and ''go-'' (後), translates literally as "later"; a ...

lost the

because of his

immorality Immorality is the violation of moral laws, norms or standards. It refers to an agent doing or thinking something they know or believe to be wrong. Immorality is normally applied to people or actions, or in a broader sense, it can be applied t ...

, casting him as a villain, and that the event therefore does not necessarily challenge the authority of the emperor and his court. This viewpoint, which was convenient for both the imperial court and the newly formed

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yo ...

, had profound influence in later relations between the ''kuge'' aristocratic class and that of

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

References

External links

* Japanese books 13th-century history books Books about Japan Early Middle Japanese texts Kamakura-period history books {{japan-hist-book-stub

See also

References

External links