ABSTRACT
No one ever secured power as rapidly as the Taira clan. Kiyomori's father, Tadamori, who was a mere warrior in the guards of the ex-Emperor Shirakawa, won his favour for a slight service which he used to render in escorting him on his nightly visit to a favourite lady. In 1129 (4th year of Taiji) the ex-Emperor appointed him Governor of Bizen, to clear the inland sea districts of pirates who had become very bold. When, in 1132 (1st year of Chosho), the ex-Emperor Toba had the Tokuchojuin constructed, Tadamori was ordered to superintend it, and he was promoted to Lord of the Penal Department and admitted into the Court on the completion of the building. He was, however, held in contempt by the Court nobles on account of his low origin, and the upstart's presence in the Court was so disdained that, on the occasion of the Homei festival, an attempt was made to insult him in the dark. But the tables were completely turned when Kiyomori became the Prime Minister and all his relatives and retainers obtained important positions, with their estates extending over one-half of the Empire. So rapidly did he acquire power that it was even rumoured that he was in reality the son of a lady who had been a favourite of the ex-Emperor Shirakawa, and who had been given to Tadamori as wife when she was with child by the ex-Emperor. There are, however, no historical data available to determine whether he was a son of the ex-Emperor, and even if he was, he did not rise into power because of his Imperial origin. He secured it as a holder of manors, which constituted a basis of local power, with considerable wealth and large military forces derived therefrom and placed at his free disposal. The Minamoto clan was also possessed of extensive estates, and in their earlier days far excelled the Taira clan in prestige. The military fame which it gained in the Early Nine Years' War and the Late Three Years' War, fought by Yoriyoshi and Yoshiie, respectively, induced local grandees in the eastern provinces to give up their manors to the clan and to become its retainers. However, the power secured by the Minamoto clan in districts remote from the political centre did not enable it to throw forces quickly into Kyoto. The Taira clan, on the other hand, found itself in an advantageous position, with manors in provinces whence it could call forth the necessary military 150forces for immediate use at Kyoto, and it availed itself freely of this real power of an estate holder.
