Taira no Kiyomori

Taira no Kiyomori (1118–1181) succeeded his father Tadamori as head of the Taira in 1153. In 1156 he crushed the Hōgen Rebellion, then defeated Minamoto no Yoshitomo in the 1160 Heiji Disturbance, leaving the Taira supreme in Kyoto.

In 1167 he became the first warrior appointed daijō-daijin. He married a daughter to Emperor Takakura, seized power in a 1179 coup, and placed his grandson Antoku on the throne in 1180 as the Genpei War began. He died in 1181.