Taira
Kiyomori didn't
have to pay the consequences of his insensibly ruthless reign; only
the rest of his clan did --
and what an expensive price it was.
He died conveniently before the clan
perished. Click
here for Kiyomori's concubine. |
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Taira
Munemori,
the Chief of the clan,
uttering his last battle-cry; this is
supposed to be a picture of him
while facing his death
in Minamoto Yoritomo's hands,
according to a 19th century painter. |
Taira
Tadanori was
an excellent poet in his days; even low-ranked soldiers knew his
poems by heart. When the Minamoto warriors killed him in battle,
they had no idea who the slain enemy was, until they found a piece
of paper in his quiver with this written there:
Now
the daylight dies,
And the shadow of a tree
Serves me for an inn.
For the host to welcome me
There is but a wayside flower.
So
they knew it couldn't be anybody else but Taira Tadanori. His
entire family were artists. |
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Taira
Akira (Tomoakira)
doing his last dance before Minamoto Yoshitsune
killed him. That same day of Tomoakira's death, the Minamoto clan
had killed Taira Michimori and his younger brother
Narimori, Taira Tadanori (see
the pic at your left), Taira Moromori, Taira
Kiyosada, Taira Kiyofusa, and the well-known
brothers, sons of Taira Tsunemori: Tsunemasa,
Tsunetoshi, and Atsumori (click
here for this one). These young men also happened to be Taira
Tadanori's grandsons. Taira Tsunemasa was a great stringwhanger
(on the traditional Japanese 'biwa'); his teenage brother
Atsumori was a flutist. Minamoto clansmen would have recognized
this family even if they didn't have any crest on their clothes
or banners on their backs; just like the soldiers that identified
Taira Tadanori through his poem, the slayer of Taira Atsumori did
so via his flute. The instrument was called 'Saeda' ('Little
Twig'). Somehow everybody knew this. |
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