Taira no Kiyomori

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Taira no Kiyomori
平清盛
Taira no Kiyomori
Born1118
Heian-kyō, Japan
DiedMarch 20, 1181
Heian-kyō, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Occupation(s)military leader, kugyō
Taira no Kiyomori in his later years, in book illustration by Kikuchi Yōsai
kaō
).
In this Japanese name, the surname is Taira.

Taira no Kiyomori (平 清盛, 1118 – March 20, 1181) was a military leader and kugyō of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan.

Early life

Kiyomori was born in Japan, in 1118 as the first son of Taira no Tadamori. His mother, Gion no Nyogo, was a palace servant according to The Tale of the Heike.

Family

Father: Taira no Tadamori
Mother: Gion no Nyogo (d. 1147)
Concubine(s): Taira no Tokiko
Children:

Career

After the death of his father in 1159, Kiyomori assumed control of the

Heiji Rebellion in 1160. Kiyomori, emerging victorious with Yoshitomo (whose two eldest sons were killed), was now the head of the single most powerful warrior clan in Kyoto. However, his clan's power and influence in the provinces at this time is a matter of debate. Kiyomori showed mercy and exiled a few of Yoshitomo's surviving sons, including Yoritomo, Noriyori, and Yoshitsune – a benevolence that would turn out to be the Taira clan's downfall later on.[1][2]

Due to his status as the head of the sole remaining warrior clan, Kiyomori was in a unique position to manipulate the court rivalry between the retired emperor,

Taira clan, with the goal of maintaining the social and political prestige of having attained the highest office in the land, but being free of the attendant duties. This had been a common practice for many years in the highest levels of Japanese government and in doing so Kiyomori was asserting what he felt was his strong position in the Kyoto government. However, many of the courtiers from traditional (non-warrior) noble families were less than pleased with both Kiyomori's attainment of power, and how he comported himself with regard to other high ranking courtiers.[1]
: 266–267 

Yoshitoshi
.

In 1171, Kiyomori arranged a marriage between his daughter Tokuko and Emperor Takakura. Their first son, the future Emperor Antoku, was born in 1178.[1]: 268, 285  The next year, in 1179, Kiyomori staged a coup d'état forcing the resignation of his rivals from all government posts and subsequently banishing them. He then filled the open government positions with his allies and relatives, and imprisoned the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Finally, in 1180 Kiyomori forced Emperor Takakura to abdicate and give Prince Tokihito the throne, who then became Emperor Antoku.[1]: 275, 285 

With the exertion of Taira power and wealth and Kiyomori's new monopoly on authority, many of his allies, most of the provincial samurai, and even members of his own clan turned against him. Prince Mochihito, brother of Emperor Takakura, called on Kiyomori's old rivals of the Minamoto clan to rise against the Taira, beginning the Genpei War in the middle of 1180. Kiyomori died early the next year from sickness, leaving his son Munemori to preside over the downfall and destruction of the Taira at the hands of the Minamoto in 1185.[1]: 278, 287 

The Tale of the Heike states that as he lay dying, Kiyomori's fever was so high that anyone who attempted to even get near him would be burned by the heat.[3]

Cultural references

Taira no Kiyomori is the main character in the

Tale of Heike
.

The

Yoshikawa Eiji", which in turn is a 1950 retelling of the 14th-century epic The Tale of the Heike
. The opening introduction to the film, in its English subtitles, is

Japan, in the Tenth and Eleventh centuries, was virtually controlled by the

until 1868
]. This story begins in 1137, in Kyoto, ancient capital of Japan.

Unlike most other tellings, Mizoguchi's film includes only the story of Taira no Kiyomori's youth, depicting him as a

palanquin shrines, where he says at his father's grave "Father, with two arrows from my bow I destroyed a superstition that gripped men for centuries. The courtiers and priests have tried to have me for blasphemy. But others have supported me, more than I expected. Some of them are lords, too. Father, a greater battle lies ahead. But I remain undaunted. No matter how I am beaten, I shall rise again". The film then ends with Kiyomori approaching an alfresco Fujiwara dance, vowing to himself, "Dance, my Lords, dance. Your end is near. Tomorrow will be ours!"[4]

Taira no Kiyomori was featured by 19th-century

Utagawa Hiroshige depicts the actor Nakamura Utayemon IV
in the character of Kiyomori, confronted by the horrific vision of his snow-filled garden transformed into the heaped bones and skulls of his slaughtered enemies.

In video games, Kiyomori appears in Warriors Orochi 2, 3 and 4 fighting for Orochi's army and using prayer beads as weapons. He also makes an appearance in Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce, as a boss in one of the game's Crossover Missions. Additionally, he is the main antagonist in Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 3.

Kiyomori also features prominently as a sympathetic villain in

peacock
instead.

A character named Lord Kiyomori appears in Book 6, "The Lords of the Rising Sun" in the Fabled Lands adventure gamebook series, where he is portrayed as the Imperial Sovereign Takakura's chancellor, and on the verge of war with the self-proclaimed shogun by the name of "Yoritomo".

The 2012 NHK Taiga drama was about him.[5]

Honours

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taira no Kiyomori.
  1. ^
    ISBN 0804705232
    .
  2. ISBN 9781590207307
    .
  3. ISBN 9780231138031
    .
  4. ^ DVD Le héros sacrilège, Films sans Frontières 2004
  5. ^ "大河ドラマ「平清盛」：語り部は敵方・源頼朝 イケメンをキャスティング予定". まんたんウェブ. 毎日新聞デジタル. 2011-05-12. Archived from the original on 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taira_no_Kiyomori&oldid=1220411059"