1108 — the Man Who Struck Down the Son of Minamoto no Yoshiie
The 1st month, the first year of Tennin (1108).
A battle came to an end in Izumo Province.
The man struck down was Minamoto no Yoshichika.
The second son of “Hachiman Taro” Minamoto no Yoshiie, who had become heir to the Kawachi Genji after his elder brother Yoshimune died young.
The man who struck him down was Taira no Masamori.
A man later known as the grandfather of Taira no Kiyomori.
This achievement raised Masamori’s standing at once, and gave the Ise Taira the foothold from which they rose to power at the center. Reference works treat the suppression of Yoshichika as the direct trigger for the Taira’s ascent.
The father, Yoshiie, raised the name of the Kawachi Genji to its height, and it was the killing of his son that let the Taira rise.
Set against the history of the Genji and the Taira, this father and son make for a strangely ironic pair.
Where exactly did Yoshichika’s path go wrong?
Let’s trace his life.
Birth Year Unknown — Born Into the House of the Ise Taira
Taira no Masamori’s birth year is unknown.
His father was Taira no Masahira.
Masahira had served as Governor of Dewa, and Masamori was born into a branch of the Kanmu Taira that would later be known as the Ise Taira.
Tracing his ancestry leads back to Taira no Sadamori (Japanese only), who struck down Taira no Masakado.
Takamochi-o’s son was Kunika. Kunika’s son was Sadamori.
The line runs from Sadamori through Korehira, Masanori, and Masahira, on down to Masamori. Taira no Sadamori defeated Masakado in 940 together with Fujiwara no Hidesato and others, and later served as Chinjufu Shogun and Governor of Mutsu.
Masamori’s ancestor Taira no Korehira is further known as the man who advanced into Ise Province in the early 11th century.
From there, the clan spread its power into the Ise and Iga region.
But the Ise Taira of Masamori’s birth were not yet anything like the later “Heike.”
At the time, the overwhelmingly dominant name in the warrior class belonged to the Kawachi Genji.
Minamoto no Yorinobu. Minamoto no Yoriyoshi. And Minamoto no Yoshiie.
Yorinobu had put down the Rebellion of Taira no Tadatsune; Yoriyoshi and Yoshiie fought the Former Nine Years War; and Yoshiie went on to lead the warriors of the east in the Later Three Years War as well.
Masamori lived through precisely the era when the martial reputation of the Kawachi Genji was reaching its greatest height.
That same Taira warrior would eventually strike down the son of Yoshiie himself.
Masamori’s Starting Point — Drawing Closer to the Center by Serving the Powerful
No coherent biography survives of Masamori’s early years.
Even so, the path by which he entered central politics can be traced to some degree.
Masamori formed ties with Fujiwara no Tamefusa and Fujiwara no Akisue, both close attendants of Retired Emperor Shirakawa, and operated in their orbit.
According to research summarized by Matsue City, Masamori initially served Tamefusa and Akisue, and became Governor of Oki around the first year of Kaho (1094).
This is the defining feature of Masamori’s career.
He did not make his name overnight through one great battlefield victory.
First, tie yourself to a powerful noble. From there, become a provincial governor.
As governor, build up wealth and connections.
Then draw closer still to Retired Emperor Shirakawa.
Masamori’s rise was built on this accumulation, step by step.
Around 1094 — Becomes Governor of Oki
Around the first year of Kaho (1094), Masamori became Governor of Oki.
Oki corresponds to today’s Oki Islands, Shimane Prefecture.
Not a large province, but becoming the provincial governor entrusted with its administration carried real weight.
For a late-Heian warrior, the position of provincial governor — the so-called “zuryo” — was a crucial foothold for building wealth.
Collecting taxes from the province.
Building relationships with local officials and powerful figures on the ground. Gathering information on shoen estates and land.
Then using the wealth earned in that province to aim for an even higher office at the center.
Masamori made extremely skillful use of this system of provincial governorships.
That skill shows clearly in the year 1097.
1097 — Donates Over 20 Cho of Land in Iga to Retired Emperor Shirakawa
The first year of Jotoku (1097).
Masamori donated more than 20 cho of his own land in Iga Province.
The recipient was the Rokujoin Mido, a temple dedicated to the memory of Retired Emperor Shirakawa’s own daughter, Princess Ikuhomon-in Teishi.
Princess Teishi had been deeply loved by Retired Emperor Shirakawa, and had died young the previous year, 1096.
Masamori offered his land to the Rokujoin, built to mourn her.
The Fukui Prefectural History likewise explains that Masamori donated more than 20 cho of land in Iga, and that this drew him closer to Retired Emperor Shirakawa.
Twenty cho corresponds, by area alone, to roughly 20 hectares.
Masamori used land to close the distance between himself and the greatest power of the age.
From here, his life would change dramatically.
Drawing Close to Retired Emperor Shirakawa — a Shift in How Warriors Rose
After abdicating in 1086, Emperor Shirakawa took the lead in politics as a retired emperor.
This was the so-called cloistered rule (insei).
Until then, the regental house had stood at the center of politics.
Retired Emperor Shirakawa built an independent political base of his own, working directly through his own close attendants and provincial governors.
What that required were men who could actually carry out the retired emperor’s own orders.
Resistance in the provinces. Robbers in Kyoto. Warrior monks pressing in from temples and shrines. Pirates plaguing the Inland Sea.
The greater the retired emperor’s own power grew, the more he needed warriors able to enforce his orders by force.
Masamori stepped into that role.
Donating land, taking part in temple construction, offering his wealth as a provincial governor.
And moving troops whenever force was called for.
To Retired Emperor Shirakawa, Masamori steadily became an increasingly useful warrior.
Reference encyclopedias likewise explain that Masamori became one of Retired Emperor Shirakawa’s own Hokumen guards, and grew into a central figure among the warrior bands supporting cloistered rule.
Masamori Also Spent “Gold” — Service to Temple and Pagoda Construction
Temple construction matters just as much as war for understanding Masamori’s rise.
Retired Emperor Shirakawa was deeply devout and built many imperially sponsored temples.
Building a great temple naturally demanded enormous sums of money.
Timber. Roof tiles. Buddhist statues. Artisans. Transport costs.
Provincial governors and others who bore these costs and undertook the construction were said to perform jogo — meritorious service.
Masamori was an active participant in this system as well.
He is known to have taken part in Retired Emperor Shirakawa’s temple and pagoda projects, including the Mandala Hall at Sonshoji.
The rise of a warrior tends to bring to mind striking down an enemy and receiving a reward.
Masamori’s path was broader than that.
Build wealth as a provincial governor. Spend that wealth on the retired emperor’s own projects. Earn his trust.
Earn that trust, and an even better governorship follows.
In the new province, build up wealth and connections all over again.
Masamori turned this cycle again and again, and rose through it.
1106 — Becomes Governor of Inaba
In the first year of Kasho (1106), Masamori became Governor of Inaba.
This corresponds to the eastern part of present-day Tottori Prefecture.
The following year, a major incident broke out in neighboring Izumo Province.
Minamoto no Yoshichika had appeared in Izumo, killed the deputy governors of Fujiwara no Ieyasu, and seized government property.
Yoshichika had originally been Governor of Tsushima.
He had clashed with Dazaifu in Kyushu, and in 1102 had been exiled to Oki.
And his father was none other than Minamoto no Yoshiie, who had died only the year before, in 1106.
The court could not simply leave Yoshichika alone.
On the 19th day of the 12th month, the second year of Kasho (1107), the court, under Retired Emperor Shirakawa’s cloistered rule, ordered his suppression.
The commander chosen was Masamori.
Why Was Taira no Masamori Chosen?
There was a geographical reason behind Masamori’s selection as well.
Masamori was Governor of Inaba.
The province directly east of Izumo, where Yoshichika was.
Entering Izumo from Inaba by way of Hoki meant simply following the San’in Road further west.
Beyond that, Masamori had by now built his relationship with Retired Emperor Shirakawa and was recognized as a man who could be entrusted with military force.
The court granted Masamori the authority to muster warriors from five surrounding provinces.
Izumo. Inaba. Hoki. Oki. And either Iwami or Bingo.
Masamori’s own direct force is thought to have numbered roughly 240 to 250 men.
To that core, he added local warriors mustered through each province’s own administrative office.
Looking only at the figure of 250, it hardly looks like a great army.
Masamori’s real strength never lay in fighting with the men of his own house alone.
He stood in a position to use the authority granted by the court to move the combined forces of several provinces at once.
This is the crucial point.
1108 — the Suppression of Yoshichika Is Settled With Startling Speed
Masamori advanced from Inaba into Hoki, gathering troops along the way.
Then, on the 6th of the 1st month of 1108, he entered Izumo.
Yoshichika is thought to have based himself around the “Cave of Kumodo,” identified with present-day Kumozu, in the Mihonoseki district of Matsue City.
Yoshichika, too, had local allies.
Even so, the fighting did not drag on.
By the 19th of the 1st month, news of victory had already reached Kyoto.
Some sources record that Masamori reported taking the heads of Yoshichika and five of his followers.
Thirteen days after entering Izumo.
In that span, he fought, broke Yoshichika’s forces, and still had time to send a messenger to Kyoto.
Remarkably fast.
This suppression carried Masamori’s name to the center of court society at a stroke.
“Governor of Tajima” Is Decided Before Masamori Even Returns
The achievement of suppressing Yoshichika was recognized at once.
Masamori had not yet returned to Kyoto.
Even so, at the appointments of the 24th of the 1st month,
he moved from Governor of Inaba to Governor of Tajima.
Tajima was, at the time, a higher-ranked province than Inaba.
For a provincial governor, the rank of one’s province translated directly into income and advancement.
Then, on the 29th of the 1st month.
Masamori returned to Kyoto bearing the heads of Yoshichika and his men.
The sight must have left a strong impression on the nobles of Kyoto.
A Taira warrior who had struck down the son of Minamoto no Yoshiie.
A provincial governor close to Retired Emperor Shirakawa.
And a man promoted to Governor of Tajima before he had even come home.
At this moment, Masamori rose a full rank higher within the warrior class.
What the Suppression of Yoshichika Won Him Was Not Fame Alone
As Governor of Tajima, he could build even greater wealth in his new province.
That wealth, in turn, went toward serving the retired emperor.
Which brought further work entrusted to him by the retired emperor.
Masamori did not let the suppression of Yoshichika stand as a single achievement — he carried it forward into his next advancement.
This point matters enormously.
Many warriors win on the battlefield and stop there.
Masamori turned military achievement into office, office into wealth, and that wealth back into political power once again.
The later Taira would inherit this same pattern.
1110 — to Rokuhara
The first year of Ten’ei (1110).
Masamori is said to have built a private hall at Rokuhara, in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto.
Rokuhara lies on the eastern bank of the Kamo River, in what is now Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City.
In the later age of Taira no Kiyomori, it would become a vast political stronghold packed with the mansions of the entire Taira clan.
That relationship between the Taira and Rokuhara began already in Masamori’s own generation.
Records further note that in 1113 Retired Emperor Shirakawa himself visited Masamori’s Rokuhara residence, and that Gion no Nyogo held a dedication ceremony there for a complete set of Buddhist sutras.
The most powerful man in the realm, coming in person to his own residence.
Set against 1097, when he donated a little over 20 cho of land, it shows just how far Masamori’s standing had risen.
From a mere provincial governor to a warrior close enough for the retired emperor to visit in person.
He had climbed that far in little more than a decade.
1113 — Over 2,000 Warrior Monks Press Toward the Retired Emperor’s Palace
In the first year of Eikyu (1113), a great commotion broke out in Kyoto.
More than 2,000 warrior monks from Enryaku-ji marched on Retired Emperor Shirakawa’s own palace.
It was a forceful petition rooted in the rivalry between Enryaku-ji and Kofuku-ji.
According to the Choshuki, the warrior monks pressed shouting right up to the gates of the retired emperor’s palace.
Among the armored warriors standing guard was Taira no Masamori, Governor of Tango.
Masamori helped defend the retired emperor together with Minamoto no Mitsukuni and others.
He had struck down Yoshichika in Izumo.
Now he was defending Retired Emperor Shirakawa in Kyoto. Masamori’s role had broadened.
To the retired emperor, he was both a commander to send against distant enemies, and a warrior who could be called on for force right at his own doorstep.
Moving Through Provincial Governorships — Masamori’s Other Strength
Over his lifetime, Masamori held many provincial governorships.
The main provinces confirmed are
Oki
Wakasa
Inaba
Tajima
Tango
Bizen
Sanuki
among others.
Looking at a map, the pattern is striking.
Oki. San’in. Wakasa. The Inland Sea.
It spreads across the western provinces.
Serving as governor across many provinces meant forging ties, each time, with local officials, warriors, and those connected to shoen estates.
It did not stop at a single province — his network of connections spread across many.
This became the foundation on which Taira no Tadamori and Taira no Kiyomori would later extend their own power into the western provinces.
1114 — Now Pursuing Pirates
The second year of Eikyu (1114).
Masamori took up the pursuit of pirates in the western provinces.
Reference encyclopedias list the suppression of pirates around Iyo Province as one of Masamori’s principal military activities.
“Pirates” of this era were somewhat different from the figures of later pirate films.
Armed coastal forces. Local powers who owned ships. Groups who raided vessels carrying tax revenue.
People who had clashed with provincial offices or shoen proprietors.
Such groups were often lumped together under the single label of “pirates.”
The Inland Sea was a vital shipping route linking Kyoto and Kyushu.
Masamori was entrusted with protecting it.
This connection to the western provinces and maritime traffic would grow even larger in the generation of his son, Tadamori.
1119 — “Robbers Strike Every Night in Kyoto”
In the second year of Gen’ei (1119), security in Kyoto deteriorated.
The Chuyuki contains an entry to the effect of, “these days, robbers strike in the capital without a single night’s pause.”
Robbers were striking almost every night.
On the 6th of the 5th month, Masamori, then Governor of Bizen, was ordered to hunt them down.
Masamori captured the robbers.
For this achievement, he was promoted on the 26th of the 5th month to Senior Fifth, Lower Grade.
A mere twenty days after the order was given.
Eleven years after the suppression of Yoshichika.
By now likely close to sixty years old, Masamori was still being trusted with the maintenance of order in Kyoto.
Leading a great army into battle was not a warrior’s only task.
From the court’s perspective, warriors also served as its police.
Masamori had carried that role for many years.
1119 — Suppresses Taira no Naozumi in Hizen
That same year, 1119.
An even larger task came to Masamori.
The suppression of Taira no Naozumi, who had caused trouble at the Fujitsu estate in Hizen Province.
The Fujitsu estate lay in what is now southwestern Saga Prefecture.
Naozumi’s side had triggered a killing amid a dispute over control of the estate, and became a target for suppression by the court.
Masamori, acting on Retired Emperor Shirakawa’s order, sent his own retainers to the scene.
In the 12th month, Naozumi was struck down.
The Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo likewise documents this as an entry for the 27th of the 12th month, 1119: Taira no Masamori, Governor of Bizen, suppressing Naozumi and his group after they committed murder in Hizen Province.
Masamori did not travel to Kyushu himself for this.
He sent his own retainers, and had them strike down the enemy in a distant province.
As a younger man, Masamori had marched to Izumo himself to strike down Yoshichika.
Eleven years later, he could remain in Kyoto and still move his own men all the way to Kyushu.
This shows clearly how much Masamori’s own warrior band had grown.
“Men of Note From the Western and Southern Seas” Gather Around Masamori
After the suppression of Naozumi, warriors of the western provinces were among those following Masamori’s side back to Kyoto.
Records of the time describe men gathering around Masamori who were praised as
“men of note from the western and southern seas.”
In other words, Masamori had grown from a commander leading only his own clansmen of Ise and Iga into a man capable of organizing warriors from across the western provinces.
This matters enormously for understanding the later Taira.
In Kiyomori’s own time, the Taira held powerful influence from the Inland Sea all the way to Kyushu.
That western network, too, was being built piece by piece already in his grandfather Masamori’s generation.
1120 — Rises to Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade
The 6th day of the 1st month, the first year of Hoan (1120).
Masamori rose to Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade.
An extremely high rank for a warrior.
Reference encyclopedias likewise record that Masamori ultimately reached Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade.
In the 12th month of the same year, he became Governor of Sanuki.
Since his birth year is unknown, his exact age cannot be given.
Reference encyclopedias estimate that he died around 1121, past the age of sixty.
Masamori’s active career comes to an end here, more or less.
By then, the next generation was already growing up.
His Son Tadamori — Carrying His Father’s Road Further Still
Masamori’s eldest son was Taira no Tadamori.
Born in 1096, he was thirteen by traditional count when Minamoto no Yoshichika was suppressed in 1108.
From his father, Tadamori inherited
the relationship with Retired Emperor Shirakawa; the path to advancement as a provincial governor; the network of warriors in the western provinces;
military and police work in Kyoto; and the stronghold of Rokuhara.
All of this passed to him.
Tadamori himself went on to serve Retired Emperors Shirakawa and Toba, holding a series of provincial governorships in the west.
He, too, distinguished himself in suppressing pirates, organizing the warriors of the Inland Sea and the western provinces under his own banner.
Tadamori’s own son was Taira no Kiyomori.
Kiyomori was born in 1118.
Barely ten years after his grandfather Masamori struck down Minamoto no Yoshichika.
By the Time Kiyomori Was Born, the Foundations of the Taira Were Already in Place
In 1118, Taira no Kiyomori was born.
His grandfather Masamori is thought to have still been alive at the time.
The house Kiyomori was born into already had a great deal in place.
A relationship with Retired Emperor Shirakawa. A record of serving as governor across multiple provinces. Land in Ise and Iga.
Rokuhara in Kyoto. Connections to warriors of the western provinces. Retainers who could be moved even to distant provinces.
And the martial reputation of having struck down the son of Minamoto no Yoshiie.
Which is to say, Kiyomori did not rise to the top of the realm in a single generation from a house with nothing.
He inherited what his grandfather Masamori and his father Tadamori had built up over decades.
And on top of that foundation, Kiyomori himself pushed the family all the way to the summit.
The Kawachi Genji and the Ise Taira — the Tide Turned in Masamori’s Time
Set beside the Kawachi Genji, the arc of Masamori’s own life makes the shift of eras easy to see.
Minamoto no Yoshiie died in 1106.
Yoshichika was struck down by Masamori in 1108.
The following year, 1109, Minamoto no Yoshitada, who had succeeded Yoshiie, was killed as well.
The Kawachi Genji fell into internal turmoil.
In that very same period.
Masamori became Governor of Tajima for suppressing Yoshichika, and went on to hold governorships in Tango, Bizen, Sanuki, and elsewhere.
He defended Retired Emperor Shirakawa’s own palace. He pursued pirates. He captured robbers in Kyoto.
He even had his own retainers strike down Taira no Naozumi as far away as Kyushu.
While the Genji side was shaking, Masamori kept building his record as the warrior entrusted with the retired emperor’s own military affairs.
Here lies one of the great turning points of the early 12th century.
What Kind of Warrior Was Taira no Masamori?
Not many dramatic tales of valor survive for Masamori, of the kind that survive for Minamoto no Yoshiie.
Loosing arrows against hundreds of riders. Charging alone into an enemy line.
He is not a man remembered for stories of that kind.
What Masamori excelled at was something far more practical.
Forming ties with powerful attendants of the retired emperor. Donating land to Retired Emperor Shirakawa. Building temples. Serving as provincial governor.
Gathering wealth and people through that position. Moving his army when it was needed.
Turning military achievement into the next office.
And expanding his connections still further in each new province.
Masamori turned this cycle over and over again.
Rather than growing strong independently, outside the court, he worked his way deep into cloistered rule itself and expanded his own house by making use of that very power.
His Later Years — Thought to Have Died Past Sixty
No definitive record survives of Taira no Masamori’s exact year of death.
Reference encyclopedias estimate that he died around the second year of Hoan (1121), while serving as Governor of Sanuki, past the age of sixty.
His birth year is unknown as well. His burial site has never been confirmed.
For that reason, he is not a man whose life can be traced in fine detail all the way to his final day, the way Minamoto no Yoshiie’s or Minamoto no Yoriyoshi‘s can.
Even so, what Masamori left behind in his later years is unmistakably clear.
His son Tadamori. His grandson Kiyomori. Rokuhara. His relationship with the retired emperor. His network of warriors in the western provinces. The wealth he built as a provincial governor.
And a proven record showing that even a Taira warrior could stand at the very front of the warrior class.
Masamori himself never became Chancellor.
Nor did he enter the very top ranks of the court nobility.
Even so, the road his grandson Kiyomori would climb all the way to that summit was already visible in Masamori’s own generation.
What Masamori Left the Taira
1097.
He donated more than 20 cho of land in Iga to the Rokujoin.
About eleven years later.
He struck down Minamoto no Yoshiie’s son, Yoshichika, and became Governor of Tajima.
He established a stronghold at Rokuhara, defended Retired Emperor Shirakawa from warrior monks, pursued pirates in the western provinces, captured robbers in Kyoto, and had his own retainers strike down a rebel force in Hizen.
In the end, he rose to Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade.
What Masamori strengthened was not his own name alone.
It was the Taira as a house.
His son Tadamori inherited it. His grandson Kiyomori inherited it in turn.
Kiyomori became Chancellor in 1167.
Just about seventy years after Masamori first drew close to Retired Emperor Shirakawa in 1097.
Over the course of seventy years, the Ise Taira climbed from a regional warrior house to the very summit of the court.
The man who took that first great step was Taira no Masamori.
