Taira no Tadamori

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Taira no Tadamori (平忠盛) (1096-1153) was a Taira clan samurai, father of Taira no Kiyomori, and member of the Kebiishi (Imperial police force). He was also governor of the provinces of Harima, Ise, Bizen, and Tajima.

He consolidated the influence of the Taira clan at the Imperial Court, and is said to have been the first samurai to serve the Emperor directly, at Court.

As a servant of the Court, Tadamori waged campaigns, beginning in 1129, against pirates on the coasts of San'yōdō and Nankaidō (two of the Gokishichidō, large administrative divisions of Japan). He also served his own clan in battling the warrior monks of Nara and of Mount Hiei.

Tadamori is also credited with the construction of the Rengeō-in, a major and now-famous temple in Kyoto, which includes the longest wooden building in the world, the Sanjusangen-dō. Tadamori was granted the governorship of Tajima province as a reward for completing this project.

[edit] References

• Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
• Papinot, Edmond (1910). Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha.