The Genpei War: Minamoto Yoritomo’s Clan- Initial up to the war The Taira and Minamoto clans were rival powers behind the throne. They sought to control the emperors by having their own favorite candidates take the throne. In Hogen Disturbance of 1156 and Heiji Disturbance of 1160, but it was the Taira that came out on top. Both families had daughters who had married into the imperial line. But after Taira’s victory in the unrest, Taira no Kiyomori became prime minister; as a result, he was able to arrange for his daughter’s three-year-old son to become the next emperor in March 1180. It was the enthronement of little emperor Antoku that led Minamoto to revolt.
