Taira no Tomotada (平知忠)
TAIRA no Tomotada (1180 - July 29, 1196) was a member of the Taira Clan at the end of Heian period. He was the second son of TAIRA no Tomomori. His mother was Jibukyo-no-tsubone (Court Lady of Jibukyo). He was a younger brother of TAIRA no Tomoaki. His official court rank was Jugoi (Junior Fifth Rank) Lord of Iga Province.
In 1183, in the face of a fierce attack by MINAMOTO no Yoshinaka, the Taira Clan decided to flee Kyoto and since Tomotada was still an infant, his father ordered that he be placed in the care of his wet nurse's son, Tamenori TACHIBANA, in Iga Province. For this reason, he was also known as Iga no daibu (Master of Iga). In the Battle of Dannoura in 1185, his father Tomomori committed suicide by jumping into water and drowning himself but his mother was rescued and returned to Kyoto. Tomotada was brought up in Iga.
However, in 1196 he suddenly appeared at Hossho-ji Temple in Kyoto. There are many theories for this but the most likely one is that he was planning to assassinate MINAMOTO no Yoritomo's brother-in-law, Yoshiyasu ICHIJO in order to restore the Taira family. The scheme was swiftly sensed by the bakufu, and Tomotada and his vassals were all killed. Died at the age of 17.
There is a famous story that after Tomotada died, his mother broke down and wept when she identified his severed head. Incidentally, there is a theory that he was born in 1176.