Taira (Heike)Taira (Ise Heishi)
Taira no Tomomori
平知盛
“The New Middle Counsellor”
1152–1185 (aged 34)
- Rank / office
- Middle Counsellor
- Domain / base
- Ise Heishi
- Banner / crest
- Swallowtail butterfly
- Battles in 3D
- 2 battles
Portrait · Source: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
I have seen all that I needed to see. Now I shall take my own life.
The Tale of the Heike
Fourth son of Kiyomori. Even after the clan fled the capital he beat the Minamoto at Mizushima and elsewhere and carried the Taira war effort on his own shoulders. At Dan-no-ura he fought hard as supreme commander but was beaten by the turning tide and the defection of an ally. Having watched his clan's end, he is said to have declared, "I have seen all that I needed to see," and gone into the sea with an anchor on his back.
Life and battlesGold dots mark battles you can watch in 3D
- 1183Juei 2
Flight from the Capital
Driven out by Kiso Yoshinaka, he fled west with the clan, taking Emperor Antoku with them.
- 1184Juei 3
Battle of Mizushima
Beat the Minamoto in the Inland Sea and laid a foothold for the Taira revival.
- 1184
Battle of Ichi-no-Tani
The Taira commander who held the gate at the Ikuta forest firmly against Noriyori's main army. His position broken by the plunge from behind, he withdrew to the sea.
Ichi-no-Tani, Settsu Province Commander-in-chief 30,000 troops Watch in 3D › - 1185Genryaku 2
Dan-no-ura: Into the Sea
Fought hard as supreme commander but was defeated. Having seen what he had to see, he shouldered an anchor and sank into the sea.
Battle of Dan-no-ura Commander-in-chief 5,000 troops Watch in 3D › The last Taira commander, who watched his clan's end, said "I have seen all that I needed to see," and sank into the sea shouldering an anchor.
