Taira clan
Major Japanese clan of samurai / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Taira clan?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Taira (平) was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period of Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto, the Fujiwara, and the Tachibana.[1] The clan is divided into four major groups, named after the emperors they descended from: Kanmu Heishi, Ninmyō Heishi, Montoku Heishi, and Kōkō Heishi,[2] the most influential of which was the Kanmu Heishi line.
Taira 平氏 | |
---|---|
Home province | Hitachi Province, Ise Province |
Parent house | Imperial House of Japan (Emperor Kanmu) |
Titles | Various |
Founder | Taira no Takamochi |
Final ruler | Taira no Munemori |
Founding year | c. 825 |
Cadet branches | Hōjō Chiba Miura Nagao Uchima Tajiri Hatakeyama Oda Tanegashima others |
In the twilight of the Heian period, the Taira controlled the boy emperor Antoku (himself the grandson of former daijō-daijin Taira no Kiyomori) and had effectively dominated the Imperial capital of Heian. However, they were opposed by their rivals the Minamoto clan, which culminated in the Genpei War (1180-1185 AD). The Taira were decisively defeated, their leaders would perish alongside Antoku. Following the war, the victorious Minamoto established Japan's first shogunate in Kamakura. The name "Genpei" comes from alternate readings of the kanji "Minamoto" (源 Gen) and "Taira" (平 Hei).
The clan is commonly referred to as Heishi (平氏, "Taira clan") or Heike (平家, "House of Taira"), using the character's On'yomi hei (平) for Taira, while shi (氏) means "clan", and ke (家) is used as a suffix for "extended family".[3] The clan is the namesake of The Tale of the Heike, an epic account of the Genpei War.