Following the instability of the Hōgen crisis, the Heiji Rebellion erupted in Kyoto as a treacherous power struggle between rival factions of the samurai elite, culminating in the decisive victory of Taira no Kiyomori. This event resulted in the near-total eradication of the senior Minamoto leadership and established the Taira clan as the absolute de facto rulers of the imperial court. The militarization of the capital and the complete marginalization of traditional aristocratic authority confirmed the transition into a volatile, war-torn feudal era.

This continuous military strife deepened the spiritual introspection of court poets, who increasingly turned to Tendai and Pure Land Buddhism for existential consolation. The physical destruction of holy temples during the fighting inspired a distinct subgenre of Buddhist poetry focused on the vanity of worldly power. Monks and court poets began cultivating an aesthetic of subtle, profound loneliness (Sabi), which became a permanent hallmark of classical Japanese spiritual verse.