political sagacity which his father lacked, he
had won victories for the family arms, and again and again had
restrained the rash exercise of Kiyomori's impetuous arrogance. The
Taira chief had learned to stand in awe of his son's reproaches, and
when Shigemori declared that he would not survive any violence done
to Go-Shirakawa, Kiyomori left the council chamber, bidding Shigemori
to manage the matter as he thought fit.* Thus, Go-Shirakawa escaped
all the consequences of his association with the conspirators. But
Kiyomori took care that a copy of the bonze Saiko's confession,
extracted under torture and fully incriminating his Majesty, should
come into the Imperial hands.

*It is recorded that, on this occasion, Kiyomori, learning of his
son's approach, attempted unsuccessfully to conceal under priestly
robes the armour he had donned to go to the arrest of Go-Shirakawa.

A final rupture between the ex-Emperor and the Taira leader became
daily imminent. Two events contributed to precipitate it. One was
that in the year following the Shishi-ga-tani conspiracy, Kiyomori's
daughter, Toku, bore to Takakura a prince--the future Emperor Antoku
(eighty-first sovereign). The Taira chief thus found himself
grandfather of an heir to the throne, a fact which did not tend to
abate his arrogance. The second was the death of Shigemori, which
took place in 1179.

Shigemori's record shows him to have been at once a statesman and a
general. He never hesitated to check his father's extravagances, and
it has to be recorded in Kiyomori's favour that, however, intolerant
of advice or opposition he habitually showed himself, his eldest
son's remonstrances were seldom ignored. Yet, though many untoward
issues were thus averted, there was no sign that growing
responsibility brought to Kiyomori any access of circumspection. From
first to last he remained the same short-sighted, passion-driven,
impetuous despot and finally the evil possibilities of the situation
weighed so heavily on Shigemori's nerves that he publicly repaired to
a temple to pray for release from life. As though in answer to his
prayer he was attacked by a disease which carried him off at the age
of forty-two. There is a tradition that he installed forty-eight
images of Buddha in his mansion, and for their services employed many
beautiful women, so that sensual excesses contributed to the
semi-hysterical condition into which he eventually fell. That is not
impossible, but c