In 897, when Emperor Uda abdicated the throne and Emperor Daigo acceded, Tokihira (as the minister of the left) and Michizane (as the minister of the right) governed jointly, but soon afterward Michizane was brought down in a plot (the Shotai Incident).
寛平9年（897年）に宇多天皇が譲位して醍醐天皇が即位すると、時平は左大臣、道真は右大臣に並んで朝政を執ったが、やがて政争が起き道真は失脚する（昌泰の変）。