The Empress Koken/Shotoku (who had previously retired but was restored) along with Dokyo, insisting that a Shintaku (oracle) of Usa Hachimangu Shrine) had been handed down, tried to appoint Dokyo as heir to the Imperial Throne but they were stopped by FUJIWARA no Momokawa and WAKE no Kiyomaro, and after the Empress Shotoku's death in 770 Dokyo fell from power.
孝謙天皇称徳天皇（孝謙上皇が復位）と道鏡は宇佐八幡宮に神託がくだったとして、道鏡を皇位継承者に擁立しようとしたが、藤原百川や和気清麻呂に阻まれ、770年（宝亀元年）の称徳天皇の没後に失脚した（道鏡事件）。