Taira no Masahira

Taira no Masahira was a mid-Heian warrior of the Ise Taira and the fifth son of Taira no Masanori, the clan's head. Based in Ise, in 1075 he backed a monk's forced seizure of the Tado Jingū-ji estates, later ruled invalid by the court.

In Kyoto he served Fujiwara no Morozane, and in 1079 helped defend the capital against Enryaku-ji warrior monks. Appointed governor of Dewa in 1099, he vanishes from the records afterward; his son Masamori laid the groundwork for the Taira rise.