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The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan.

In reference to Japanese history
History of Japan

The written history of Japan begins with brief references of Twenty-Four Histories, a collection of Chinese historical texts, in the 1st century AD....
, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period
Heian period

The is the last division of classical History of Japan, running from 794 to 1185. It is the period in Japanese history when Confucianism and other Chinese culture were at their height....
 to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects. The Taira clan is often referred to as Heishi (??, literally "Taira clan") or Heike (??, literally House of Taira ), using the character's Chinese reading hei.

Offshoots of the imperial dynasty, some grandsons of Emperor Kammu
Emperor Kammu

was the 50th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 781 through 806....
 were first given the name Taira in 825 or later.






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The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan.

In reference to Japanese history
History of Japan

The written history of Japan begins with brief references of Twenty-Four Histories, a collection of Chinese historical texts, in the 1st century AD....
, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period
Heian period

The is the last division of classical History of Japan, running from 794 to 1185. It is the period in Japanese history when Confucianism and other Chinese culture were at their height....
 to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects. The Taira clan is often referred to as Heishi (??, literally "Taira clan") or Heike (??, literally House of Taira ), using the character's Chinese reading hei.

Offshoots of the imperial dynasty, some grandsons of Emperor Kammu
Emperor Kammu

was the 50th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 781 through 806....
 were first given the name Taira in 825 or later. Afterwards, descendants of Emperor Nimmyo
Emperor Nimmyo

was the 54th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign lasted the years spanning 833 through 850....
, Emperor Montoku
Emperor Montoku

Emperor Montoku was the 55th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. The years of his reign spanned the years from 850 through 858....
, and Emperor Koko
Emperor Koko

was the 58th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from 884 to 887....
 were also given the surname. The specific hereditary lines from these emperors are referred to by the emperor's posthumous name followed by Heishi. i.e. Kammu Heishi.

The Taira were one of the four important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period (794-1185) - the others were the Fujiwara, the Tachibana
Tachibana clan (kuge)

The Tachibana clan was one of the four most powerful kuge families in Japan's Nara period and early Heian periods. Members of the Tachibana family often held high court posts within the Daijo-kan , most frequently Sadaijin ....
 and the Minamoto
Minamoto clan

was one of the honorary surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period on those of their sons and grandsons who were not considered eligible for the throne....
.

The Kammu Heishi line, founded in 889 by Taira no Takamochi (a great-grandson of the 50th Kammu tenno, reigned 781-806), proved to be the most strong and dominant line during the late Heian period with Taira no Kiyomori
Taira no Kiyomori

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....
 eventually forming the first samurai
Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of Pre-industrial society Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character ? was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau....
 dominated government in the history of Japan. A great-grandson of Heishi Takamochi, Taira no Korihira, moved to Ise Province
Ise Province

or Seishu was a Provinces of Japan of Japan including most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered Iga Province, Kii Province, Mino Province, Omi Province, Owari Province, Shima Province, and Yamato Provinces....
 (now part of Mie Prefecture
Mie Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan which is part of the Kinki and Chubu regions on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Tsu, Mie....
) and established a major daimyo dynasty. Masamori, his grandson; and Tadamori, great-grandson, became loyal supporters of the cloistered tennos Shirakawa and Toba, respectively. Taira no Kiyomori, son and heir of Tadamori, rose to the position of daijo daijin (great minister of state) following his victories in the Hogen Disturbance (1156) and the Heiji Disturbance (1160). Kiyomori managed to enthrone his infant grandson as Emperor Antoku
Emperor Antoku

Emperor Antoku was the 81st Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185....
 in 1180, an act which led to the Genpei War
Genpei War

The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clan clans and in late-Heian period Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....
 (1180-85), the Taira-Minamoto War. Kiyomori's sons, the last of the head family of the Kanmu Heishi line was eventually destroyed by the armies of Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo

was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199....
 at the Battle of Dan-no-ura
Battle of Dan-no-ura

The was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshu. On April 25 1185, the Genji clan fleet, led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, defeated the Heike clan fleet, during a half-day engagement....
, the last battle of the Genpei War. This story is told in the Heike Monogatari.

This Kammu Heishi had many branch families including the Hojo
Hojo clan

See the late Hojo clan for the Hojo clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken, officially just a regent) of the Kamakura Shogunate....
, Chiba
Chiba clan

The was a branch family of the Taira clan descended from Chiba no Suke, son of Taira no Tadatsune. Historically, they controlled the city of Chiba, Chiba, outside Tokyo, and also an area called Soma, Fukushima which included the Grand Shrine of Ise....
, Miura
Miura clan

The was one of the branch families descended from the Taira clan. They held large fiefs, and great political influence. They were one of the primary opponents of the Hojo clan family of Shikken, in the mid-13th century, and again at the beginning of the 16th....
 and Hatakeyama
Hatakeyama clan

The was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim of political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Hatakeyama Shigetada later were killed in battle by Hojo clan forces in Kamakura....
.

Another Kammu Heishi: Takamune-o (804-867), the eldest son of Kazurahara-Shinno (786-853) and a grandson of Emperor Kammu, received the kabane of Taira no Ason in 825. Thus there were two Kammu Heishi families, one descended from Takamune and the other from his nephew, Takamochi (son of Prince Takami).

The Oda clan
Oda clan

The was a family of Japanese daimyo who were to become an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several branches of the family would continue on as daimyo houses until the Meiji Restoration....
 in the time of Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga

was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of History of Japan. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo with land holdings in Owari province....
 (1534-1582) claimed descent from the Taira, by Taira no Chikazane
Taira no Chikazane

was a Japanese warrior of the medieval era. He was the great-grandson of Taira no Kiyomori.Oda Nobunaga claimed descent from him....
, a grandson of Taira no Shigemori
Taira no Shigemori

was the eldest son of the Taira clan patriarch, Taira no Kiyomori. He took part in the Hogen Rebellion and Heiji Rebellion rebellions. He died of illness in 1179....
 (1138-1179).

See also

  • Japanese name
    Japanese name

    in modern times usually consist of a family name , followed by a given name. This order is common in countries that have long been part of the Sinosphere, including among the Chinese people, Korean people and Vietnamese people cultures....