Jōkyū War
Japanese civil war (1221) between Retired Emperor Go-Toba and the Hōjō clan, regents of the Kamakura shogunate
Jōkyū War (承久の乱, jōkyū no ran), 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 overthrow.
The decisive battle of the conflict was fought at Uji in 1221, the third year of the Jōkyū era, just outside the imperial capital of Kyōto. It was the third battle to be fought there in less than half a century.
Background
In the beginning of the 13th century, Emperor Go-Toba found his attempts at political maneuvers blocked by the Kamakura shogunate. Seeking independence, and the power he considered rightfully his as the ruler of Japan, Go-Toba gathered allies in 1221, and planned to effect an overthrow of the shogunate. These allies consisted primarily of members of the Taira clan, and other enemies of the Minamoto, the victors in the Genpei War, and clan of the shōguns.
Accounts of the first Imperial banner appear in this period, and the very first is said to have been one that Go-Toba gave to a general during this war. Sun and moon images were embroidered or painted with gold or silver on a red brocade.
Provocation and attack
In the fifth lunar month of 1221, the Retired Emperor Go-Toba decided on lines of succession, without consulting the shogunate and powerful Hojo clan. He then invited a great number of potential allies from amongst the eastern warriors of Kyoto to a great festival, thus revealing the loyalties of those who rejected the invitation.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Jōkyū War” as japanese civil war (1221) between Retired Emperor Go-Toba and the Hōjō clan, regents of the Kamakura shogunate. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the history & society register because the source frames it as japanese civil war (1221) between Retired Emperor Go-Toba and the Hōjō clan, regents of the Kamakura shogunate. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1372308. The Library of Congress control number is sh85069458. Authority coordinates are 35.012, 135.768. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1221.
Institutional narratives can privilege the records that survived while minimizing voices that were never formally collected. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Jōkyū War” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.