Fujiwara no Tadakiyo (藤原忠清)
FUJIWARA no Tadakiyo (year of birth unknown - 1185) was a busho (Japanese military commander) during end of the Heian period. His original name was Tadakage. He was generally known as Go ITO, Tadakiyo ITO or Kazusa no suke Tadakiyo. His father was Kagetsuna ITO. His brothers included Kageie and Tadanao. His sons were FUJIWARA no Tadatsuna, Tadamitsu and Mitsukage, and TAIRA no Kagekiyo.
Biography
He was an influential retainer of the Taira family, who was born to the Ito clan of FUJIWARA no Hidesato house, based in Furuichi-so in Watarai District, Ise Province. At the Hogen War, Tadakiyo led the vanguard of the TAIRA no Kiyomori's force and fought with MINAMOTO no Tametomo. He fought a hard battle with Tametomo, who was a skillful archer, and lost his brother Tadanao, or Roku ITO, during the war. Immediately after the Heiji War, he captured FUJIWARA no Tsunemune and FUJIWARA no Korekata, close associates of Emperor Nijo, on the order of Kiyomori, according to "Gukansho" (Jottings of a Fool).
After serving as Sahyoe no jo (third-ranked officer of Sahyoe-fu, the Left Division of Middle Palace Guards), he became Uemon no shojo in 1170. Among the Taira family, Tadakiyo was especially close to TAIRA no Shigemori, and was a menoto (foster father) of TAIRA no Koremori. Subsequently, he was exiled for some reason to Kazusa Province, where he received a hearty welcome by Kazusa no suke Hirotsune, a local official.
"Genpei Seisui ki" (Rise and Fall of the Minamoto and the Taira clans) describes Hirotsune's attitude as 'Hirotsune welcomed Tadakiyo thoughtfully in a cordial manner.'
At the Coup of the Third Year of Jisho in 1179, he became Kazusa no suke (Assistant Governor of Kazusa Province) in place of FUJIWARA no Tameyasu, who had been dismissed, and was also appointed as Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade). In addition, he was given authority to lead the bushidan (warrior bands) in the eastern countries as 'betto (administrator) of samurai in the Bando eight countries,' according to "Heike Monogatari" (The Tale of the Heike). In later years, Yoshimori WADA wished for Tadakiyo's position as betto for a reward, and was appointed as Samuraidokoro Betto (administrator of the Board of Retainers) of the Kamakura government. After taking control of kokuga (provincial government office compounds) in Kazusa Province, Tadakiyo forgot Hirotsun's favor and took a high-handed attitude and detained Yoshitsune, son of Hirotsune, who was visiting Kyoto for pleading. Angered at Tadakiyo's oppression, Hirotsune eventually rebelled against the Taira clan.
Jisho-Juei War
At the Rising of Prince Mochihito in May, 1180, Tadakiyo chased Prince Mochihito with his brother Kageie and his legitimate son Tadatsuna. He set up an umaikada (line of horses) to cross Uji-gawa River, and defeated MINAMOTO no Yorimasa and others. Informed that Prince Mochihito had taken refuge in Nara and that it was uncertain whether he was dead or alive, TAIRA no Shigehira and Koremori attempted to invade Nanto, or Nara, but Tadakiyo stopped them, saying, 'thought is needed as to heading for Nanto in the evening: the young never know the details of military operations,' according to "Sankaiki," a diary of Tadachika NAKAYAMA.
Tadakiyo was nervous about the movements of Yoritomo, who was then an exile in Izu, after he received reports from Kagechika OBA. The eastern countries were thrown into turmoil when Yoritomo raised an army in September, and the imperial decree to search out and kill Minamoto no Yoritomo was issued throughout the Tokaido countries. On September 22, Koremori left Fukuhara to lead the army as an envoy to search out and kill Yoritomo, and Tadakiyo accompanied him as a samurai daisho (warrior who gave orders at battles). On October 18, the government army arrived at Suruga Province and confronted the rebel at Fuji-gawa River, where an army of one thousand soldiers faced several tens of thousands of enemy soldiers, and Tadakiyo figured he was losing ground, proposing to Koremori to draw off. Tadakiyo 'gave logical explanations and repeatedly taught lessons' to persuade Koremori, who was hesitant to retreat, according to "Gyokuyo" a diary of Kanezane KUJO.
Tadakiyo, who was in priesthood by then, did not accompany the Taira clan when they fled from Kyoto in July, 1183, and stayed in the Kinai region (provinces surrounding Kyoto and Nara), and he tried to reconcile with MINAMOTO no Yoshinaka in his own way, according to "Gyokuyo." In July, 1884, after the end of the Battle of Ichinotani, Tadakiyo waged a large-scale revolt, called Mikka Heishi no ran (the three-day rebellion by the Taira clan), with TAIRA no Ietsugu in their home ground of Iga and Ise Provinces. Since the main force of the eastern countries had been led by MINAMOTO no Noriyori and went back to Kamakura, defense of Kyoto was poor. At this time, Koreyoshi OUCHI and Tsunetoshi YAMAUCHISUDO were appointed as daikan (local governors) in Iga and Ise respectively, to hunt down the remnants of the Taira clan and Yoshinaka's force. As a background of this rebellion, it is suggested that there was a backlash against the authoritarian control by the Kamakura (Minamoto) side.
The rebellion was put down after a fierce battle in which Hideyoshi SASAKI of the Kamakura side was killed. Ietsugu died at the battle, but Tadakiyo ran away and continued to hide out. When MINAMOTO no Yoshitsune stared off to attack Yashima the following year, Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa tried to stop him in fear of Tadakiyo' s threat; this reveals how powerful Tadakiyo was. In May, 1185, after the Taira clan died out at the Battle of Danno-ura, Tadakiyo was captured by Mitsukazu KATO's followers in Onoura, Shima Province, and was executed in the Rokujo-gawara riverside on May 16, according to "Azuma Kagami" (The Mirror of the East).