Taira no Tadanori

Taira no Tadanori (平 忠度) (1144–1184) was the brother of clan head Taira no Kiyomori, and one of his generals in the Genpei War against the Minamoto.

Tadanori by Kikuchi Yōsai
In this Japanese name, the family name is Taira.

Tadanori also took part in the Battle of Fujigawa.

Tadanori also fought against Minamoto no Yoshinaka in the Battle of Kurikara.[1]

According to the Tale of the Heike, before fleeing the capital, he visited Fujiwara no Shunzei to deliver a "hundred or so" poems. Shunzei included one anonymously in the Senzaishu. The poem read, "In ruins now, the old capital of Shiga by the waves, yet the wild cherries of Nagara still bloom as before."[2]

He was killed in the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani.[2]:96[3][4] Tadanori had a son named Taira no Tadayuki.

Tadanori is featured as the title character in a Noh play by Zeami; in the play, his spirit returns to the mortal world to plead for recognition for having authored a well-known poem. According to the Heike Monogatari, a poem was found in his quiver after his death. The poem reads: "Were I, still traveling as night falls, to make a sheltering tree my inn, then would my host tonight be the blossoms themselves?"[5] In reference to this, Zeami designates a cherry tree as Tadanori's grave marker, and makes it the site of his play.

References
  1. Turnbull, Stephen (1987). Battles of the Samurai. Arms and Armour Press. p. 13. ISBN 0853688265.
  2. The Tales of the Heike. Translated by Burton Watson. Columbia University Press. 2006. pp. 72–77. ISBN 9780231138031.
  3. Sansom, George (1958). A History of Japan to 1334. Stanford University Press. p. 299. ISBN 0804705232.
  4. Sato, Hiroaki (1995). Legends of the Samurai. Overlook Duckworth. p. 123. ISBN 9781590207307.
  5. Tyler, Royall (trans.) (1992). "Japanese Nō Dramas." London: Penguin Books.
  • Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & Co.
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