The regent of the realm, but not its master.
He married a Taira daughter, was regent for the child Antoku in 1180, and was displaced by Kujō Kanezane in 1186; Michichika brought him back in 1196 because he would not trouble the clique. He signs what Michichika and Go-Toba decide, and he holds the great proprietorship of his house: the Konoe are the paper lords (honke) of Shimazu-no-shō, the largest estate of Kyūshū. Their steward on the spot is Shimazu Tadahisa, whom Kamakura also made constable (shugo) of Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga; the Konoe name appears on the revenue and the Kamakura name on the army.
Who he is
- Name
- Konoe Motomichi
- Title
- Regent (sesshō) for the child emperor and head of the Fujiwara (Uji no chōja) [not yet checked against the source]
- Since
- Restored to power in the coup of 1196 (English Wikipedia, Michichika); sesshō for Tsuchimikado from 1198 [not yet checked against the source]
- Born
- 1160
- Family
- Founder's line of the Konoe house (father Konoe Motozane). Wife: Taira no Sadako, daughter of Taira no Kiyomori. Sons Iezane (b. 1179) and Michitsune (b. 1184). On the likely course he takes the monk's name Gyōri in 1208 (English Wikipedia).
- Confidence
- medium
English Wikipedia (Konoe Motomichi) gives his early offices; the 1196-1202 term rests on Michichika's page and on recollection.
Overlord
Go-Toba
What it holds
- The Konoe family's estates, chief of them Shimazu-no-shō (Hyūga, Ōsumi, Satsuma)
- The regent's office and the patronage of the Fujiwara temples (Kōfukuji and Kasuga) as head of the clan [not yet checked against the source]
How it was acquired
By inheritance in the Konoe line and by Michichika's choice in 1196.
Allies and rivals
Michichika's creature; the Kujō house are his rivals; he is a Taira in-law and no friend of Kamakura's partisans, but has accepted their rights.
How things stand that morning
Regent, thirty-nine or forty by Western count (born 1160, the month not known to me); in office until Kujō Yoshitsune replaces him in 1202 (brief).
Wealth
The Konoe estate revenues, above all Shimazu-no-shō; no figure used.
Military
None of his own; the Shimazu steward holds the army on the estate.
Threats
- Replacement by Yoshitsune after Michichika's death
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- Kennin 2 (late 1202 or early 1203)Replaced by Kujō Yoshitsune as regentDepends on: Michichika's death on Kennin 2/10/21 Stopped by: n/a
Where the sources disagree
- English Wikipedia (Motomichi) says nothing of 1196-1202; the term is from the Michichika page (restored 1196) and the brief (replaced 1202). The sesshō title from 1198 is recollection.
Evidence: Offices and family are checked on English Wikipedia; the 1198 to 1202 term rests on recollection and the brief.
Primary sources for Kyoto court
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Hundred Times Refined Extracts: court annals (late thirteenth century, from court diaries). Short dated annals of the imperial court excerpted from courtiers' diaries, among them the Gyokuyo and the Meigetsuki. Read online
- Mirror of the East, Anonymous; compiled by officials of the Kamakura shogunate (compiled about 1300 from the shogunate's records, diaries and family documents). The Kamakura house's own chronicle, in daily entries. Read online
- Jottings of a Fool: an interpretative history of Japan, Jien (慈円) (about 1219 to 1220, revised to about 1223). A history by Kujo Kanezane's brother, head of the Tendai school and the leading churchman of the court, written to explain the fall of the Kujo and the rise of the warriors as the working of principle (dori). Read online
- History of the Song, the chapters on Xia and on foreign states, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1345). The Song court's accounts of its neighbours, each arranged as an annal of embassies and wars. Read online
- Diary of the Inokuma Regent: the diary of Konoe Iezane, Konoe Iezane (近衛家実) (1197 to 1218, as a daily diary). The diary of the regent's heir, aged twenty-one in 1200 and already a senior courtier under his father Konoe Motomichi, who was regent (sessho) for the child emperor Tsuchimikado. Read online
- Leaves of Jade: the diary of Kujo Kanezane, Kujo (Fujiwara) Kanezane (九條兼實) (1164 to 1200, as a daily diary). The diary of the former regent, Yoritomo's ally at court, who had been driven from power in the Kenkyu purge of 1196 and lived in retirement in 1200. Read online
- Record of the Bright Moon: the diary of Fujiwara no Teika, Fujiwara no Teika (藤原定家) (1180 to 1235, as a daily diary, with gaps). The diary of the poet and courtier, then thirty-eight and a middle-ranking official of the Kujo house. Read online
- Surviving Documents of the Kamakura Period, Various; collected by Takeuchi Rizo (竹内理三) (documents of 1185 to 1333, collected and printed 1971 to 1997). The collected charters, deeds, court orders, shogunal directives, temple records and land registers of the Kamakura age, printed in date order. Read online
4 more in the sources library for Korea and Japan.
Sources and studies
- OMNIA kja regional brief (KJA_BRIEF.md), the campaign's dated traps and realm table
- Konoe Motomichi, English Wikipedia
- Minamoto no Michichika, English Wikipedia
- Shimazu clan, English Wikipedia
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.