Fujiwara no Hidehira

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Fujiwara no Hidehira (藤原秀衡; ? - 1187) was the third ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the grandson of Fujiwara no Kiyohira. During the Gempai War, he controlled his territory independently of the central government; he provided the protection to Yoshitune and his companion Benkei, the warrior monk. They were evading the hunt by Yoritomo. Hidehira gave them sanctuary and put them up in one of his castles. They were sitll his guests when he died in 1187. He had his son promise to continue to shelter Yoshitune and Benkei, but the son gave into Yoritomo and surrounded the castle with his troops, forcing Yoshitsune to commit seppuku (his head would be preserved in sake and given to Yoritomo) and resulting in the famous standing death of Benkei. Yoritomo destroyed the Fujiwara domain and killed Hidehira's son.^[1] Hidehira's corpse became a mummy, preserved today within Konjikido in Chuson Temple^{[citation needed]}.