Coup of the seventh year of Kenkyu (建久七年の政変)
Coup of the seventh year of Kenkyu was a coup that took place in 1196.
MINAMOTO no Yoritomo had Kanezane KUJO as his spokesman at the Imperial Court, however, at the time of his daughter Ohime's judai (an Imperial Consort's bridal entry into court) for the Emperor Gotoba, he consulted MINAMOTO no Michichika, who was anti-Kanezane and even anti-bakufu, and not Kanezane.
In 1195, Ninshi gave birth to Imperial Princess Shoshi, the emperor's daughter, and MINAMOTO no Zaishi, Michichika's daughter, gave birth to Imperial Prince Tamehito (later called the Emperor Tsuchimikado). On December 21, 1196, chugu (Palace of the Empress) Ninshi KUJO was expelled from kokyu (empress's residence) and on the 23rd of the same month, kanpaku Kanezane KUJO was dismissed and was replaced by Motomichi KONOE; Takayosho ICHIJO, whose mother was the sister of Yoritomo, Bomon hime, was appointed as sangi, Kintsune SAIONJI, the husband of Bomon hime's daughter, was appointed as Kurodo no to (Head Chamberlain), and on the 24th of the same month, Jien, the head priest of the Tendai sect of Buddhism, was ordered to stay inside the residence, and FUJIWARA no Kanefusa, the Grand Minister, was reshuffled (both Jien and Kanefusa were both Kanezane's younger brother-uterine).
The ringleaders were Michichika TSUCHIMIKADO and Tango no tsubone, anti-Kanezane. They were both Emperor Goshirakawa's trusted vassals. It is also said that they did not intend to cooperate Yoritomo. According to a theory, Yoritomo remained silence even after hearing this plan.
As a result, Ohime died a year later in 1197, before the plan of judai was put into practice. In the following year, Takayoshi ICHIJO died of illness and Yoritomo died in 1199 without getting a spokesman in the Imperial Court. Michichika TSUCHIMIKADO gained the real power, however, in 1200, Yoshitsune KUJO, the legitimate son of the Kujo family, who he thought had defeated, came back to power as Sadaijin (minister of the left), which he was appointed; Michichika, on the other hand, died in 1202. Two months after the death of Michichika, Yoshitaune KUJO was appointed as Sessho Daijo daijin (Regent and the Grand Minister).