Taira no Takamochi (平高望), born Prince Takamochi (高望王), was a former member of the
Imperial Family
A royal family is the immediate family of King, kings/Queen regnant, queens, Emir, emirs/emiras, Sultan, sultans/Sultana (title), sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the ...
demoted to
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
of 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. ...
. He is the founder of the
Taira clan
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 ...
and the Kanmu Heishi lineage of the clan.
Life
Prince Takamochi was born as the son of
Prince Takami, the third prince of
Prince Kazurawara, and
Tachibana no Harunari. Takamochi was the great-grandson of
Emperor Kanmu
, or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...
, who reigned from 781 to 806.
He was granted the court rank of
Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade
The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the state. ''Ikai'' as a system was originally used in the Ritsuryo system, which was the polit ...
and served as Vice Governor (''suke''
''kokushi'') of
Kazusa Province
was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. The province was located in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula, whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa province ...
.
On May 13, 889, Takamochi was granted the surname Taira, thus establishing the Kanmu Heishi line of the
Taira clan
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 ...
. This line proved to be the strongest and most dominant line 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. ...
.
Even after his retirement, he stayed in Kazusa Province and became a powerful figure in the
Kantō region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...
as a feudal lord, privately owning vast
rice fields
A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-Aust ...
.
Genealogy
Taira no Korihira, a great grandson of Takamochi, moved to
Ise Province
was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .
History
The name of Ise appears ...
(currently part of
Mie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...
) and established an important
Daimyo
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally ...
dynasty.
Later, the Kanmu Heishi lineage had many branches, including
Hōjō,
Chiba
Chiba may refer to:
Places China
* (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei
Japan
* Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture
** Chiba Station, a train station
* Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...
,
Miura and
Hatakeyama clans.
Family
* Father:
Prince Takami
* Mother:
Tachibana no Harunari
* Wife:
Fujiwara no Yoshikata's daughter
** Eldest son:
Taira no Kunika
** Second son:
Taira no Yoshikane
** Third son:
Taira no Yoshimasa
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 divide ...
** Son:
Taira no Yoshiyori
* Concubine
** Son:
Taira no Yoshifumi
Taira no Yoshifumi (平 良文) was a samurai lord of the Heian period. Called the "father of Musashi Plain development," the eight Taira clans of East Japan are said to have descended from him. He was also known as Muraoka Gorō.
Life
Yoshifu ...
* Unknown mother
** Son:
Taira no Yoshihiro
** Son:
Taira no Yoshimochi
** Son: Taira no Yoshimasa
** Daughter: Fujiwara no Korechiyo's wife,
Fujiwara no Tamenori's mother
References
{{Reflist
Taira clan
9th-century births
Year of death unknown
Japanese nobility
10th-century deaths
Imperial House of Japan