Dai Nihon Rokujūyoshō, Kii Sammichūjō Koremori by Yoshitora

(1158 – 1184) was one of the

Taira The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided i ...

clan's commanders during the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself ...

of the late

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. ...

Japanese history The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new invent ...

. He was the eldest son of

Taira no Shigemori was the eldest regent of the Taira clan patriarch, Taira no Kiyomori. He supported his father in the Heiji Rebellion. He died two years before his father. His son, Taira no Koremori, became a monk in 1184, and drowned himself. Oda Nobunaga cl ...

, who was the eldest regent and heir of

Taira no Kiyomori 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 Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first so ...

Early life

Taira no Koremori was born in 1158. In contrast to his father, who was a warrior focused on battle, he grew up to be a young nobleman who enjoyed poetry and music.

Genpei War

During the Genpei War, Koremori lost the Battle of Fujikawa in 1180. He invaded three years later

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form ...

, taking Hiuchiyama and several other of

Minamoto no Yoshinaka , , or Lord Kiso was a general from the late Heian period of Japanese history. A member of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was his cousin and rival during the Genpei War between the Minamoto and the Taira clans. Yoshinaka was born in Musas ...

's strongholds. However, Yoshinaka was able to take back the strongholds and defeat Koremori during the

Battle of Kurikara The , also known as the battle of Tonamiyama (砺波山), was a crucial engagement in Japan's Genpei War; in this battle the tide of the war turned in the favour of the Minamoto clan. "Yoshinaka won by a clever strategy; under cover of nightfa ...

. Koremori fled the Heike headquarters during the

Battle of Yashima Battle of Yashima (屋島の戦い) was one of the battles of the Genpei War on March 22, 1185 in the Heian period. It occurred in Sanuki Province (Shikoku) which is now Takamatsu, Kagawa. Background Following a long string of defeats, the Tai ...

, and sought to reunite with his family left behind in the capital. However, along the way back he met the priest Takiguchi, formerly Saito Tokiyori, on

Mount Kōya is a large temple settlement in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan to the south of Osaka. In the strictest sense, ''Mount Kōya'' is the mountain name ( sangō) of Kongōbu-ji Temple, the ecclesiastical headquarters of the Kōyasan sect of Shingon Budd ...

and became a monk. The rumor later spread that he had boarded a boat at Hama-no-miya and set out to sea where he drowned.

Family

His sons,

Taira no Takakiyo {{family name hatnote, Taira, lang=Japanese Taira no Takakiyo (平高清/ Taira no Rokudai 平六代, 1173 – March 3, 1199) was a member of the ruling Taira clan from the late Heian period to the early Kamakura period. He was the son of Taira no ...

and

Taira no Chikazane (1178-1225) was the last living member of the Taira clan. He was the son of Taira no Koremori, grandson of Taira no Shigemori, and great-grandson of Taira no Kiyomori. He and his brother, Taira no Takakiyo, were the only male members of the Tair ...

, became the last members of the

clan after most of their relatives were killed in the

Battle of Dan-no-Ura The was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. On April 25, 1185 (or March 24, 1185 by the official page of Shimonoseki City), the fleet of the Minamoto clan ...

in 1185.

References

*Frederic, Louis (2002). "Taira no Koremori". ''Japan Encyclopedia''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Taira no, Koremori Taira clan 1160 births 1184 deaths Deified Japanese people

Early life

Genpei War

Family

See also

References