Siege of Sanjō Palace

Siege of the Sanjō Palace
Part of the Heiji Rebellion

Night Attack on the Sanjō Palace (handscroll detail)
DateJanuary 19
Location
Sanjō Palace, Kyoto, Japan
35°00′42″N 135°46′05″E / 35.0116°N 135.7680°E / 35.0116; 135.7680
Result Minamoto clan victory; Palace destroyed
Belligerents
Minamoto Clan, with Fujiwara no Nobuyori Palace guards protecting Go-Shirakawa
Commanders and leaders
Minamoto no Yoshitomo
Strength
500? Unknown

The siege of the Sanjō Palace was the inciting incident of the Heiji Rebellion (平治の乱, Heiji no ran, January 19 – February 5, 1160) during the late Heian period of Japan . The conflict arose from feud between court advisors Fujiwara no Nobuyori and Fujiwara no Michinori, both of the powerful Fujiwara clan, with each respectively allied alongside the warrior clans of the Minamoto (Genji) and Taira (Heiki). The Siege is the focal point of the Japanese war epic (軍記物語, Gunki monogatari) The Tale of Heiji (平治物語, Heiji monogatari) and the corresponding Illustrated Scrolls of the Tales of the Heiji (平治物語絵巻, Heiji monogatari emaki). The Night Attack on Sanjō Palace (Sanjō-den yo-uchi no maki) handscroll is the most prominent of the three extant Illustrated Scrolls and belongs to The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in Boston, Massachusetts, where it currently resides on display.