The retired Emperor Gotoba possessed many talents, including exceptional skill in the arts--as evidenced by the fact that he personally chose the poems that were recorded in the "Shinkokin wakashu" (A New Collection of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poetry)--but his skills also extended to the martial arts, and he was fond of hunting as well, making him quite unique as a sovereign; in the time leading up to his revolt, he had worked to bolster his military strength by establishing a Western Guard Corps and adding this to his existing Northern Guard Corps.
後鳥羽上皇は多芸多才で『新古今和歌集』を自ら撰するなど学芸に優れるだけでなく、武芸にも通じ狩猟を好む異色の天皇であり、それまでの北面の武士に加えて西面の武士を設置し軍事力の強化を行っていた。