The Rebellion of Fujiwara no Nakamaro (Emi no Oshikatsu) — The Grand Minister's Uprising Against Retired Empress Kōken and Dōkyō

The Rebellion of Fujiwara no Nakamaro (Emi no Oshikatsu no Ran), which unfolded in the 9th month of Tenpyō-hōji 8 (764), was a political upheaval that dramatically reshaped the government of the late Nara period. Fujiwara no Nakamaro, who stood at the pinnacle of power as Taishi (Grand Minister), rose in arms against Retired Empress Kōken and the monk Dōkyō, and was killed in the attempt.

The Rise of Fujiwara no Nakamaro

Fujiwara no Nakamaro, a son of Fujiwara no Muchimaro of the Southern House, rose rapidly to prominence backed by the trust of his aunt, Empress Dowager Kōmyō. In 758, he installed Emperor Junnin on the throne, and that same year he was granted the surname and given name "Emi no Oshikatsu" (Fujiwara no Emi no Ason Oshikatsu); in 760 he rose further to the position of Taishi. During this period, backed jointly by Emperor Junnin and Empress Dowager Kōmyō, Nakamaro effectively monopolized power at court.

The Rise of Dōkyō and Escalating Conflict

When Empress Dowager Kōmyō, his patron, died in the 6th month of 760, Nakamaro's authority began to wane. Around the same time, Retired Empress Kōken—who had already abdicated but retained the title of jōkō—grew devoted to the monk Dōkyō, who attended her as a healing priest. Nakamaro attempted to have Emperor Junnin admonish Kōken over her relationship with Dōkyō, but this only provoked her anger. In the 6th month of 762, Kōken took Buddhist vows and declared that the reigning emperor would handle only routine ceremonial matters, while she herself would decide matters of state and dispense rewards and punishments—making the rift with Junnin and Nakamaro's faction explicit.

The Uprising and the Struggle for the Imperial Seal

In the 9th month of 764, Nakamaro was appointed to a newly created military commission overseeing troops in the Home Provinces, the Three Barriers, and Ōmi, Tamba, and Harima Provinces, granting him authority to muster soldiers in these regions. However, his attempt to mobilize far more troops than the regulations allowed was reported to Kōken, alerting her side to his rebellious intent. Sensing the danger, Kōken's faction moved first to secure the imperial bell and seal—symbols of legitimate sovereign authority—seizing them from Nakamaro's grasp. Having lost the seal, Nakamaro lost his legitimacy in the capital and fled with his clan toward his home base in Ōmi Province.

Flight to Ōmi and Final Defeat

Fleeing to Ōmi, Nakamaro attempted to reverse his fortunes by installing Prince Shioyaki (a son of Prince Niitabe) as a rival "emperor," but Kōken's side dispatched a punitive force, with Kibi no Makibi among its commanders, in pursuit. Nakamaro's forces fought the pursuing army at several points but were consistently outmatched, and were finally cornered and killed together with the rest of the clan at Katsuno-onie in Takashima District, Ōmi Province (near present-day Takashima, Shiga Prefecture). Nakamaro's death brought the rebellion to an end barely a week after the struggle for the bell and seal.

Aftermath: The Deposition of Emperor Junnin and Kōken's Return to the Throne

Immediately after the rebellion, Emperor Junnin, who had been installed by Nakamaro, was deposed and exiled to Awaji Province (becoming known as the "Deposed Emperor of Awaji"). Retired Empress Kōken resumed the throne in his place as Empress Shōtoku. Thereafter, Dōkyō rose to the extraordinary positions of Chancellor-Preceptor and later Dharma King, ushering in an era in which a Buddhist monk effectively held the reins of court power—an arrangement that lasted until Empress Shōtoku's death in 770 and Dōkyō's subsequent fall.

Relevance to Sword History

In Nara-period warfare, officials and soldiers are understood to have fought primarily with chokutō (straight, unreflexed swords, the dominant blade type of the era) and bows. Primary sources detailing the specific arms used during the Nakamaro rebellion are scarce, but the mobilization of soldiers levied from various provinces under the ritsuryō military system, equipped with weapons, offers a valuable glimpse into the reality of the era's gundan (provincial militia) and armory systems. The Shōsōin repository still holds numerous Nara-period chokutō and ceremonial swords, testifying to the role of swords at the Nara court—less as practical weapons of war than as ceremonial implements symbolizing rank and authority. The Nakamaro rebellion stands as one of the rare instances in which a power struggle within the ritsuryō state, set against this backdrop of Nara-period sword culture, escalated into open armed conflict.