Taira no Kiyomori
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:KiyomoriStatueMiyajima.jpg Taira no Kiyomori (平 清盛 1118 - 1181) was a general of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan.
After the death of his father Taira no Tadamori in 1153, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan and ambitiously entered the political realm in which he had previously only held a minor post. In 1156, he and Minamoto no Yoshitomo, head of the Minamoto clan, suppressed the Hogen Rebellion. This established the Taira and Minamoto samurai clans as the top political powers in Kyoto. However, their new strength in effect caused the allies to become bitter rivals which culminated three years later in the Heiji Rebellion in 1159. Kiyomori, emerging victorious with Yoshitomo and his two eldest killed, now remained the greatest political power in Kyoto. At the request of his wife, Kiyomori showed mercy and exiled Yoshitomo's three youngest sons Yoritomo, Noriyori, and Yoshitsune and seized most of the manors of his rivals.
As the greatest political power and owner of the majority of manors in the Japan, he amassed unrivaled wealth and power. In 1167, Kiyomori was the first samurai to be appointed Daijō Daijin, chief minister of the government, the de facto administrator of the imperial government. Though he relinquished the position later in the year and relinquished the leadership of the clan, he remained the orchestrator of the government policy and successfully placed his family members and allies in most of the government posts and as magistrates of nearly half of the provinces of Japan.
In 1171, Kiyomori forced the marriage between the Emperor Takakura and his daughter Tokuko. Their first son, Prince Tokihito was born in 1178. The next year, in 1179, Kiyomori staged a coup d'etat 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 the emperor Takakura to abdicate and give Prince Tokuhito the throne, becoming the Emperor Antoku.
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 in the next year from sickness, leaving his sons with the downfall and destruction of the Taira at the hands of the Minamoto.
Taira no Kiyomori is also the main character in the Kamakura period epic, the Tale of Heike.
Modern Depictions of Kiyomori
- Taira Kiyomori is the enemy in the PlayStation 2 game, 'Dawn of the Samurai and is portrayed as using mystical stones named 'Amahagane' to defeat his enemies.
- There is a walking robot named Kiyomori that has been developed in Japan by Tmsuk in association with the Atsuo Takanishi Laborotary of Waseda University. It's walk is more humanlike than most bi-pedal robots as it's pelvis has two degrees of movement, like humans and it has 39 joints within its frame. See http://kiyomori.jp/
- There is an alternative rock band in the UK named after Kiyomori. Kiyomori comprise of Adam Kidd (vocals, guitar), Sean-Lee Duncan (bass guitar) and Ben Kidd (drums). They mostly play in the South East of the UK and have, as yet, not released any of their material. See http://kiyomori.co.uk/