Taira no Shigemori - Taira no Shigemori

Japanese: 平重盛 - たいらのしげもり

Year of death: 29 July 1179 (2 September 1179)
Year of birth: 1138
A military commander in the late Heian period. He was the eldest son of Kiyomori, and his mother was the daughter of Takashina Motoaki. During the Hogen Rebellion (1156), he fought alongside his father against Minamoto no Tametomo, and was awarded the fifth rank. During the Heiji Rebellion (1159), he made a name for himself by attacking the Daidairi where Minamoto no Yoshitomo was located, and was appointed as the governor of Iyo. He rose steadily in the ranks as the Taira clan entered the political world, and in 1163, he was awarded the rank of noble by the retired Emperor Goshirakawa for his work in building Rengeoin Temple. From this time on, he became a trusted vassal of the retired Emperor Goshirakawa, and in 1167, he was promoted to Gon Dainagon (primary councilor) and was ordered to hunt down bandits and pirates in the eastern and western provinces. This meant that the Taira clan had gained military power in various provinces, and Shigemori played an influential role in the political world as the head of the Taira clan and a trusted vassal to the emperor. The incident in 1170, in which his son, Sukemori, was humiliated after encountering the carriage of the regent Fujiwara no Motofusa, is famous in the Tale of the Heike as the "Prince's Ride Incident," but according to the Gyokuyo, it was Shigemori, not Kiyomori, who carried out the retaliation. This well illustrates his actions as a trusted aide to the monk. After being appointed Minister of the Interior in 1177, he was not particularly active due to poor health and his wife being the sister of Fujiwara no Narichika, the mastermind behind the Shishigatani Incident (a plan to pursue the Taira clan in 1177), and he died in 1173. He was a devoted Buddhist, and it is said that he sent money from Oshu to Iozan in China for his memorial service before his death. After his death, Emperor Goshirakawa confiscated Shigemori's fief in Echizen Province (Fukui Prefecture), which is said to have been one of the factors behind Kiyomori's coup in November of the same year. In contrast to Kiyomori, the Tale of the Heike portrays Shigemori as a calm, collected, ideal man, praising him as "beautiful in his writing, loyal in his heart, gifted in arts and crafts, and virtuous in his words," and positions his death as a sign of the decline of the Taira clan. The general assessment is that he was "very gentle in his manners" and "superior in his bravery to those of his time," and the Gukansho also records that Shigemori said, "He was gentle in his mind, and seeing that his father, the monk, had rebellious thoughts, he wished for his immediate death." <References> Fumihiko Gomi, "The Various Stages of the Taira Military System" (Shigaku Zasshi, Vol. 88, No. 8)

(Fumihiko Gomi)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：治承3.7.29(1179.9.2)
生年：保延4(1138)
平安末期の武将。清盛の嫡男で母は高階基章の娘。保元の乱(1156)では父に従い源為朝と戦って名を挙げ五位に叙せられ,平治の乱(1159)では源義朝のいる大内裏を攻めて戦功をあげ伊予守に任じられる。その後は平氏の政界進出とともに順調に出世し,長寛1(1163)年には後白河上皇の蓮華王院造営の賞により公卿に列した。このころから後白河上皇の近臣となり,仁安2(1167)年には権大納言に出世するとともに,東国,西国の山賊・海賊追討を命じられた。これは諸国の軍事権を平氏が手中にしたことを意味するもので,その後の重盛は平氏の家督と院の近臣との立場にあって政界に重きをなした。子の資盛が関白藤原基房の車と出会って恥辱を受けた嘉応2(1170)年の事件は『平家物語』に「殿下乗合事件」として有名だが,その報復を行ったのは清盛ではなく『玉葉』によれば重盛であったという。院近臣としての行動をよく物語っている。治承1(1177)年に内大臣に任じられたのちは,身の病弱と妻が鹿ケ谷事件(1177年の平氏追討計画)の張本である藤原成親の妹であったことから顕著な活動はみられず,3年に亡くなった。亡くなる前に中国の医王山に追善のために奥州の金を送った話があるなど,仏法に帰依深かった。死後,後白河法皇は重盛の知行する越前国(福井県)を没収したが,それがその年11月の清盛のクーデタの一因となったという。『平家物語』は重盛を清盛とは対照的に冷静,沈着な理想的な人物として描いており,「文章うるはしうて,心に忠を存じ,才芸すぐれて,詞に徳を兼ね」と絶賛し,その死も平氏の衰退の前兆として位置づけている。「心操甚だ穏便」「武勇時の輩に勝る」という評価が一般的で,『愚管抄』も「心うるはしくて,父入道が謀反心あるとみて,とく死ばや,といひて」と重盛が語ったと記している。<参考文献>五味文彦「平氏軍制の諸段階」(『史学雑誌』88巻8号)

(五味文彦)

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