Taira << tah ee rah or TY rah >> was the name of a warrior family whose members served as provincial governors in Japan from the mid-1100’s to 1185. The Taira—also known as the Heike << hay keh >> —were supporters of the cloistered emperors, who controlled the Japanese government from the late 1000’s to the late 1100’s.
In 1156 and 1159, Taira Kiyomori, the head of the Taira at the time, defeated his rivals, including members of the opposing Minamoto family as well as his own relatives. Kiyomori arranged for his daughters to marry members of the imperial family, and his grandson became heir to the throne as Emperor Antoku. During the Gempei War (1180-1185), the Taira fought against provincial warriors who called themselves “Minamoto” but were not a unified group. Kiyomori died in 1181. The remaining Taira and the young emperor Antoku were destroyed in a naval battle against the Minamoto in Japan’s Inland Sea in 1185.
