The clan Taira () was one of the four clans which dominated the policy of the Japan during the era Heian, the three others being the Fujiwara, the Minamoto and the Tachibana. The clan is also known under the names of Heike () and Heishi (), according to the Chinese pronunciation of the character for Taira ( Hei ), shi ({{language|ja|氏}}) meaning clan and ke ({{language|ja|家}}) , family.
The Taira first go down from prince Takamune, a small son of the Empereur Kammu which accepted the name of Will conceal in 825. After that, descendants of the emperors Nimmyō, Montoku, and Kōkō also accepted this nickname, each branch of the clan bearing the name of the emperor of which it went down, followed Heishi (for example, the principal line going down from Kammu, it was named Kammu Heishi .)
Will conceal No Korihira, great-grandson of Takamochi, left to settle in the Province of Ise where it establishes a great dynasty of Daimyō S . Its grandson Masamori and his great-grandson Tadanori allowed, by their honesty towards, respectively, the withdrawn emperors Shirakawa and Toba, to ensure the position of the clan the court, Tadamori entering even to the imperial service, honor which no warrior had never had front. His/her son, Taira No Kiyomori became daijōdaijin (Prime Minister), following his victories during the Rébellion of Hōgen in 1156 and the Rébellion of Heiji of 1160.
Its accession at the post of Prime Minister, component in fact the first government dominated by Samurai S, enabled him to operate to put on the throne in 1180 its grandson the emperor Antoku, then one year old, which led to the Guerre of Gempei, which led at the end of five years to the total destruction of the clan after the Bataille of DaN-No-ura.
The branch Kammu Heishi is in the beginning many clans, including the Hōjō, the Chiba, the Miura and the Hatakeyama.
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