The was a powerful clan of the far north of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

during the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

, descended from

Prince Toneri (January 28, 676 – December 6, 735) was a Japanese imperial prince in the Nara period. He was a son of Emperor Tenmu. He was given the posthumous name, , as the father of Emperor Junnin. In the beginning of the Nara period, he gained politic ...

, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

branch family of

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early peri ...

; the younger of the ''

kuge The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamakur ...

'' (court nobles) branch of the clan. The position of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Dewa province was passed down within the family; the Kiyohara are particularly known for their involvement in the Zenkunen and

Gosannen War The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, ''gosannen kassen''), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū. History The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power wi ...

s of the 11th century. The erupted in 1051, when

Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was a Japanese samurai lord who was the head of the Minamoto clan and served as '' Chinjufu-shōgun''. Along with his son Minamoto no Yoshiie, he led the Imperial forces against rebellious forces in the north, a campaign called the Zenkunen War, ...

and his son Yoshiie arrived in the north, from

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, as agents of the Imperial court. They were there to put an end to a conflict between the Governor of

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...

(which bordered the Kiyohara's Dewa) and the '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' (Defender of the North), Abe no Yoritoki. The Kiyohara Governor of Dewa contributed warriors to the Minamoto effort, and aided in their victory over the

Abe clan The was one of the oldest of the major Japanese clans (''uji''); and the clan retained its prominence during the Sengoku period and the Edo period.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit." Universität Tübingen (in German). The ...

, which was achieved in 1063. The Kiyohara then took over the administration of Mutsu, along with Dewa. Within the next twenty years, quarrels and conflicts arose within the family over differing interests arising from intermarriage with different warrior families.

Kiyohara no Masahira The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch fa ...

, Iehira and Narihira, heads of branches of the family, created such a disturbance that Minamoto no Yoshiie, who had taken the formerly Abe post of Defender of the North, felt it necessary to interfere in the conflict. In 1083, he was appointed Governor of Mutsu, and arrived in the north to attempt to resolve the situation peaceably; he soon was forced to resort to gathering his own troops. After much fighting, the violence came to an end; Iehira and his uncle

Kiyohara no Takahira The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch fam ...

had been killed, the other Kiyohara leaders surrendered. Control of both Dewa and Mutsu then passed to

Fujiwara no Kiyohira was a samurai of mixed Japanese-Emishi parentage of the late Heian period (794–1185), who was the founder of the Hiraizumi or Northern Fujiwara dynasty that ruled Northern Japan from about 1100 to 1189. Biography Kiyohira was the son of Fuji ...

, an ally of Yoshiie. The ''kuge'' branch continued their legacy of scholarship, spawning writers, scholars, poets and artists. The descendants possessed hereditarily the office of ''daigeki''.

Kiyohara no Yorinari The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch fam ...

(1122–1189), son of the ''Daigeki''

Kiyohara no Suketada The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch fam ...

, was governor of Etchū Province and excelled in law, literature and history. The clan's Kyoto mansion, along with all the books and scrolls contained within, was destroyed in the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. ''Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bunmei ...

of the late 15th century.

Kiyohara of note

Kiyohara no Fukayabu Kiyohara no Fukayabu (清原深養父, dates unknown) Japanese poet of Heian period (9-10th century). He is an author of the thirty-sixth poem of the ''Ogura Hyakunin Isshu'' and contributor of 17 poems to the ''Kokin Wakashū''. He is the gra ...

Kiyohara no Motosuke was a Heian period '' waka poet'' and Japanese nobleman. His daughter was the Heian poet and author Sei Shōnagon, famous today for writing ''The Pillow Book''. He is designated a member of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals, and one of his poems i ...

Sei Shōnagon was a Japanese author, poet, and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is the author of . Name Sei Shōnagon's actual given name is not known. It was the custom among aris ...

- daughter of Motosuke, and one of the most famous women poets in all of Japanese history * Kiyohara no Natsuno - jurist of the 9th century *

Kiyohara no Iehira Kiyohara no Iehira (清原家衡) (died 1087) was a member of the Kiyohara clan, which wielded significant power in the Tōhoku region from around 1063 to 1089, during Japan's Heian period; he was also a key participant in the Gosannen War which gr ...

Kiyohara no Narihira The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch fam ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiyohara Family Japanese clans Imperial House of Japan