The was a powerful clan of the far north of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

during the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japan ...

, descended from Prince Toneri, son of

Emperor Tenmu was the 40th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. Tenmu's rei ...

(631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

branch family of

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early per ...

; the younger of the ''

kuge The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamak ...

'' (court nobles) branch of the clan. The position of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Dewa province was passed down within the family; the Kiyohara are particularly known for their involvement in the Zenkunen and

Gosannen War The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, ''gosannen kassen''), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū. History The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power ...

s of the 11th century. The erupted in 1051, when Minamoto no Yoriyoshi and his son Yoshiie arrived in the north, from

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

, as agents of the Imperial court. They were there to put an end to a conflict between the Governor of

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the co ...

(which bordered the Kiyohara's Dewa) and the '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' (Defender of the North),

Abe no Yoritoki (died 28 August 1057) was the head of the Abe clan of Emishi who were allowed to rule the six Emishi districts ( Iwate, Hienuki, Shiwa, Isawa, Esashi and Waga) in the from Morioka to Hiraizumi in what is now Iwate Prefecture. Background Th ...

. The Kiyohara Governor of Dewa contributed warriors to the Minamoto effort, and aided in their victory over the

Abe clan The was one of the oldest of the major Japanese clans (''uji''); and the clan retained its prominence during the Sengoku period and the Edo period.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit." Universität Tübingen (in German). The ...

, which was achieved in 1063. The Kiyohara then took over the administration of Mutsu, along with Dewa. Within the next twenty years, quarrels and conflicts arose within the family over differing interests arising from intermarriage with different warrior families.

Kiyohara no Masahira The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch f ...

, Iehira and Narihira, heads of branches of the family, created such a disturbance that Minamoto no Yoshiie, who had taken the formerly Abe post of Defender of the North, felt it necessary to interfere in the conflict. In 1083, he was appointed Governor of Mutsu, and arrived in the north to attempt to resolve the situation peaceably; he soon was forced to resort to gathering his own troops. After much fighting, the violence came to an end; Iehira and his uncle

Kiyohara no Takahira The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch f ...

had been killed, the other Kiyohara leaders surrendered. Control of both Dewa and Mutsu then passed to Fujiwara no Kiyohira, an ally of Yoshiie. The ''kuge'' branch continued their legacy of scholarship, spawning writers, scholars, poets and artists. The descendants possessed hereditarily the office of ''daigeki''.

Kiyohara no Yorinari The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch f ...

(1122–1189), son of the ''Daigeki''

Kiyohara no Suketada The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch f ...

, was governor of

Etchū Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Etchū bordered on Noto and Kaga Provinces to the west, Shinano and Hida Provinces to the south, Echigo Province to the east and the S ...

and excelled in law, literature and history. The clan's Kyoto mansion, along with all the books and scrolls contained within, was destroyed in the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. '' Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bun ...

of the late 15th century.

Kiyohara of note

* Kiyohara no Fukayabu * Kiyohara no Motosuke *

Sei Shōnagon was a Japanese author, poet, and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is the author of . Name Sei Shōnagon's actual given name is not known. It was the custom among arist ...

- daughter of Motosuke, and one of the most famous women poets in all of Japanese history * Kiyohara no Natsuno - jurist of the 9th century *

* Kiyohara no Iehira *

Kiyohara no Narihira The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch f ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiyohara Family Japanese clans Imperial House of Japan