After ruthlessly rid of all obstacles in its path, including his brother, Minamoto no Yoritomo proved a very capable leader. Unfortunately, he died prematurely when he fell from his horse. The post of shogun then fell on his son, as was already shaping up as a hereditary monarchy in the shadow of the Emperor. Yoritomo's son was a pious young man, and was not at all prepared for what was coming: his mother. Masako, the widow of Yoritomo, an ambitious, determined and unscrupulous, was the one who actually took power, aided by his father. In a relentless sequence, did abdicate his son, who admitted to a monastery, and he was killed. Then appointed shogun to his son minor: Minamoto was the last to hold the position. Given the young age of the new shogun , Masako appointed regent ( shikken ) to his father. Japanese politics had become a maze of mirrors: now not only the emperor was a puppet shogun , but it was itself a puppet of shikken . In this power game, after a few years, the regent ordered to kill the shogun force, simultaneously launching a propaganda campaign against Minamoto potential candidates for office. Then went to the Emperor of Time, Go-Toba, and asked him to appoint a new shogun sufficiently manipulated. But the Emperor saw his own opportunity, and tried to find a candidate that would serve to restore their diminished power. For a time, Emperor and Regent was devoted to cakes, to submit their own candidates, and reject the contrary. Finally, in a fit of dignity Emperor outlawed the regent and declared, appealing to the divinity of the imperial dynasty, sought help from the monks of Enryaku-Ji shrine. He did not contact anyone, and Go-Toba was forced into exile.
Fig. 2: Emperor Go-Toba.
Carmen Quirós, this post is for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment