This was the so-called Jisho-sannen no seihen (the Coup in 1179: the third year of the Jisho era); Kiyomori fired all 39 court nobles and Imperial vassals who were considered to be anti-Taira clan, including kanpaku Motofusa, Gon-chunagon Moroie, and FUJIWARA no Moronaga (8 aristocrats and a total of 31 tenjo-bito (high-ranking courtiers allowed into the Imperial Palace), zuryu (a provincial governor), and kebiishi (police and judicial chiefs) and replaced them with court nobles who were pro-Taira clan.
いわゆる治承三年の政変であるが、清盛は関白・基房、権中納言・師家を手始めに、藤原師長など反平氏的とされた39名に及ぶ公卿・院近臣（貴族8名、殿上人・受領・検非違使など31名）を全て解任とし、代わって親平氏的な公家を任官するにいたったのである。