Heike government

Japanese: 平氏政権 - へいしせいけん

The government established by Taira no Kiyomori at the end of the Heian period. It is also called the Rokuhara government because of the location of the Taira clan's residence.

[Yukiko Iida]

Formation process

The Hogen and Heiji Rebellions (1156 and 1159), which arose from political strife within the political circles of Kyoto, brought the importance of military power to the attention of both political circles and people, and Taira no Kiyomori, who defeated Minamoto no Yoshitomo, rose to become the single greatest warrior leader. As one of the powerful families in charge of "military affairs," Kiyomori came to play a part in national power. With this "military affairs" as a backdrop, Kiyomori and his family consolidated their foothold in the central political world, and in 1167 (Jin'an 2), Kiyomori became the first warrior to be awarded the highest rank of Daijo Daijinju Ii. Furthermore, Shigeko (Kenshunmon'in), the younger sister of Kiyomori's wife Tokiko, gave birth to Emperor Takakura with Emperor Goshirakawa, and when the son of Emperor Takakura and Kiyomori's daughter Tokuko (Kenreimon'in) ascended to the throne (Emperor Antoku), Kiyomori gained the status of maternal grandfather of the emperor in 1180. Of Kiyomori's daughters, Moriko became the wife of the regent Fujiwara no Motozane and inherited his estates after Motozane's death, and Moriko's younger sister Hiroko became the wife of Motozane's son Motomichi, and so they married into influential aristocrats.

[Yukiko Iida]

Dictatorship

Members of the Taira clan rose through the ranks of the government, acquiring many positions as feudal lords and provincial governors, and also accumulating estates. This eroded the political and economic foundations of the old powers, and the retired emperor, aristocrats, temples, and shrines gradually strengthened their unity in their anti-Taira stance. Furthermore, local samurai also began to resist the Taira, who did not represent their interests. In the midst of this, the Shishigatani Incident (1177) occurred, in which the retired emperor's close aides attempted to overthrow the Taira. After this, the conflict between the retired emperor and the Taira became more serious, and in 1179 (Jisho 3), Kiyomori staged a coup d'état and imprisoned Emperor Go-Shirakawa. This marked the beginning of the Taira clan's dictatorial military rule, but at the same time, anti-Taira movements also became more active. In May of the following year, 80, Prince Mochihito raised his army, and in August, Minamoto no Yoritomo and Do Yoshinaka also raised theirs. After that, local samurai in various provinces raised their troops, and a state of civil war was brought about. The Taira clan fought back by moving the capital to Fukuhara and burning down Nara, but the situation did not improve, and around the time of Kiyomori's death from illness in 81 (Yowa 1), they attempted to rebuild the military system in the Kinai region and nearby provinces by establishing Sokan and Sogeshi. However, the tide of the times could not be stopped, and in July of 83 (Juei 2), before Minamoto no Yoshinaka entered Kyoto, Taira Munemori, honoring Emperor Antoku, fled to the western provinces with his clan. Until their annihilation at Dannoura in March two years later, the clan maintained its base at Yashima and at one point showed signs of drawing close to Kyoto, but they were ultimately defeated at Ichinotani and Yashima and were never able to regain political power.

[Yukiko Iida]

The Taira government in the narrow sense

Strictly speaking, it was after the coup of 1179 that the Taira clan gained political power and became able to make arbitrary decisions. Therefore, when the Taira government is defined as a government in the narrow sense, it refers to the period after the coup. The prosperity of the Taira clan, described as "more than 10 nobles and more than 30 courtiers" and "more than 30 provinces under the Taira clan's control, which already covered half of the country" (The Tale of the Heike), was realized after the coup. It is also thought that it was during this period that spies were sent into Kyoto to expose anti-Taira elements. It is said that there were more than 500 Taira confiscated lands, but the core of these were in the form of ryokeshiki and azukaridokoro positions, where the higher authority was looked up to by the main family. However, as the Heike clan's sole authority increased, manors that did not have a superior authority, i.e. manors with the Heike clan as their head office, also appeared. After the coup, the Heike clan not only gained absolute power in the central political world, but also qualitatively changed the color of their position as powerful.

[Yukiko Iida]

Foundations and Features

The foundations on which Kiyomori could rise to power had already been established during the time of his grandfather Masamori and father Tadamori. They served as governors of the western provinces under the Shirakawa and Toba cloister governments, pursued and captured bandits in the west, and played a part in controlling the cloistered territories in the west, expanding their political and economic power. It was around this time that they became involved in trade with Song. Thus, the Taira clan's power base was in the west before the Hogen and Heiji wars, and this characteristic did not change until their downfall. However, when we look at the succession of members of the clan who served as kokushi after the two wars, we are surprised to find that they served as feudal lords and provincial governors in the eastern and Hokuriku regions for long periods. This can be seen as an indication that the Taira clan, who had become a powerful military clan and were responsible for the national military system, tried to organize local military forces through the kokuga military system. In particular, it would have been an urgent task to organize the eastern samurai, who formed the basis of the Minamoto clan.

In addition, the establishment of Jito (land stewards) was also seen, but this was not organized or systematic, and was merely established in some areas as a "personal gift" for the manor lord. Furthermore, in 1181 (Yowa 1), the Sokanshiki (general manager) and Sogeshi (general subordinate office) positions were established for the Kinai and nearby provinces. This is attracting attention as a link to the later Shugo and Kunijito of the Kamakura Shogunate. Since this was established so soon, it is questionable how effective it actually was, and it cannot be compared to the institutionalized system of the Kamakura Shogunate, but it is important to note that both the Jito and the Sokanshi and Sogeshi positions were precursors to these.

[Yukiko Iida]

[Reference] | Heike

Successive governors of the Taira clan
©Shogakukan ">

Successive governors of the Taira clan

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

平安末期に平清盛(きよもり)が樹立した政権。平氏一門の居館の在所から六波羅(ろくはら)政権ということもある。

［飯田悠紀子］

成立過程

京都政界内の政争から起こった保元(ほうげん)・平治(へいじ)の両乱（1156、59）は、武力の重要性を政界内外に知らせる結果となり、源義朝(よしとも)を破った平清盛が唯一最高の武家棟梁(とうりょう)に成り上がった。清盛は「武」を担当する権門の一つ（軍事権門）として、国家権力の一翼を担うこととなる。この「武」を背景に清盛とその一門は中央政界に地歩を固め、清盛自身は1167年（仁安2）武家として初めて太政(だいじょう)大臣従(じゅ)一位の極官を得た。また清盛妻時子の妹滋子(しげこ)（建春門院(けんしゅんもんいん)）は後白河(ごしらかわ)院との間に高倉(たかくら)天皇を産み、高倉天皇と清盛女(むすめ)徳子(とくこ)（建礼門院(けんれいもんいん)）との間の皇子が即位（安徳(あんとく)天皇）すると、清盛は天皇外祖父の地位を得ることになる（1180）。清盛の女(むすめ)のうち盛子は関白藤原基実(もとざね)室となって基実死後その遺領を伝領、盛子の妹寛子は基実子基通(もとみち)の室になるなど、有力貴族との婚姻を結んでいる。

［飯田悠紀子］

独裁政権

平氏一門の人々は、それぞれに官位を進め、多くの知行主(ちぎょうしゅ)・国守(こくしゅ)の地位を獲得し、荘園(しょうえん)の集積をも図った。そのことが旧勢力の政治的・経済的基盤を侵略することとなり、院・貴族・寺社は反平氏という立場でしだいに結束を強めてゆく。さらに地方在地武士も、彼らの利害を代表しえない平氏に、抵抗を示し始める。そのようななかで起こったのが、院近臣が平氏倒滅を図った鹿ヶ谷(ししがたに)事件（1177）。こののち院と平氏との対立は深刻化し、1179年（治承3）には清盛がクーデターを敢行して後白河院を幽閉した。これを機に平氏の独裁的武断政治が展開されることとなるが、一方では反平氏の動きも活発化する。翌80年5月以仁(もちひと)王の挙兵があり、8月には源頼朝(よりとも)・同義仲(よしなか)が挙兵、以後諸国に在地武士が兵をあげ、内乱状態が招来された。これに対し平氏は福原遷都や南都焼打ちで対抗したが事態は好転せず、81年（養和1）清盛病死と前後して総管(そうかん)・総下司(そうげし)設置などによって畿内(きない)近国の軍事体制の再建を図った。しかし時流は押しとどめようもなく、83年（寿永2）7月源義仲の入京を前に、平宗盛(むねもり)は安徳天皇を奉じ一門を率いて西国(さいごく)に逃れた。2年後3月に壇ノ浦(だんのうら)で族滅されるまで、一門は屋島を本拠として、一時は京へ迫る勢いを示したが、結局一ノ谷、屋島と敗れ、ふたたび政治権力を回復することはできなかった。

［飯田悠紀子］

狭義の平氏政権

厳密な意味で平氏が政治権力を自らのものとし、政策を専断しうるようになったのは、1179年のクーデター以後である。したがって狭義に平氏政権を政権として規定する場合には、このクーデター後をさしていう。「一門公卿(くぎょう)十余人、殿上人(てんじょうびと)三十余人」「平家知行(ちぎょう)の国三十余、既に半国に及べり」（『平家物語』）という繁栄は、このクーデター以後に実現されたものである。また京中に禿童(かむろ)をスパイとして放ち、反平氏分子の摘発を図ったのもこの時期のことと思われる。平家没官領(もっかんりょう)は500余か所あったといわれるが、その中核は上位権力者を本家(ほんけ)に仰ぐ領家職(りょうけしき)・預所(あずかりどころ)職の形態をとるものであった。しかし平家の専権化が進んでからは、上位領有権者をもたない、すなわち平家を本所(ほんじょ)とする荘園も出現している。クーデター後、平家は中央政界での発言権を絶対化するというだけでなく、質的にも権力者としての色彩を変えていったのである。

［飯田悠紀子］

基盤と特色

清盛が台頭しうる基盤は、すでに祖父正盛(まさもり)・父忠盛(ただもり)の時代に形成されていた。彼らは白河・鳥羽(とば)両院政下で西国の守(かみ)を歴任し、西国の賊徒を追捕(ついぶ)し、西国の院領支配の一翼を担って、政治力と経済力とを伸張させた。対宋(そう)貿易にかかわりをもつようになったのも、このころのことである。したがって保元・平治以前の平氏は、その勢力基盤を西国に置き、その特質は滅亡まで変わらなかった。しかし両乱後の一門による国司歴任をみてみると、意外なことに東国や北陸での知行主・国守在任が長い。それは軍事権門として国家軍制を担うことになった平氏が、地方軍事力の組織化を国衙(こくが)軍制を通して強めようとした現れとみることができる。とくに源氏の基盤たる東国武士をいかに編成するかは重要な急務であったであろう。

　このほか地頭(じとう)の設置もみられるが、これは組織化・体制化されたものではなく、一部の地域で荘園領主の「私の芳志」として設置されたにすぎなかった。さらに1181年（養和1）には畿内・近国を対象に総管職(そうかんしき)・総下司(そうげし)職が設置された。これは後の鎌倉幕府の守護・国地頭につながるものとして注目されている。時期があまりに切迫してからの設置なので、実際にどの程度の効力があったかは疑問であり、また鎌倉幕府の制度化されたそれとは比較すべくもないが、先の地頭といい、この総管・総下司といい、その先駆形態がみられるという点は見逃すことができない。

［飯田悠紀子］

[参照項目] | 平氏

平氏の国司歴任

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