Taira no Koremori (平 維盛) (1158 – 1184) was one of the Taira clan's commanders and military lord during the Genpei War of the late Heian period of Japanese history. He was the only child of Taira no Shigemori, who was the eldest regent and heir of Taira no Kiyomori.[1]
Early life
editTaira no Koremori was born in 1158.[1] In contrast to his father, who was a warrior focused on battle, he grew up to be a young civil nobleman who enjoyed poetry and music.[citation needed]
Genpei War
editDuring the Genpei War, Koremori lost the Battle of Fujikawa in 1180. He invaded Echizen Province three years later, taking Hiuchiyama and several other of 日本語Minamoto no Yoshinaka's strongholds. However, Yoshinaka was able to take back the strongholds and defeat Koremori during the Battle of Kurikara Pass.[2][3]
Koremori fled the Heike headquarters during the Battle of Yashima, 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 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.[4][5]
Family
editHis sons, Taira no Takakiyo and Taira no Chikazane, became the last members of the Taira clan after most of their relatives were killed or committed suicide in the Battle of Dan-no-Ura in 1185.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Brown, Delmer M.; Hall, John Whitney; Shively, Donald H.; McCullough, William H.; Jansen, Marius B.; Yamamura, Kōzō; Duus, Peter (1988). The Cambridge History of Japan. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. pp. 615, 703–704. ISBN 978-0-521-22353-9.
- ^ Sansom, George (1958). A History of Japan to 1334. Stanford University Press. p. 293. ISBN 0804705232.
- ^ Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. Cassell & Co. pp. 201–202. ISBN 1854095234.
- ^ The Tales of the Heike. Translated by Burton Watson. Columbia University Press. 2006. pp. 109–121. ISBN 9780231138031.
- ^ Turnbull, Stephen R. (2016). The Gempei War 1180–85 : the great Samurai civil war. Giuseppe Rava. Oxford. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-4728-1384-8. OCLC 954103123.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
- Frederic, Louis (2002). "Taira no Koremori". Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.