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Yashima Taira Clan

The Taira have every right to be a proud family. They have a noble heritage, the noblest because the blood of emperors flows in their veins. They quite properly remember that they are descendants of Emperor Kammu.

They are also a practical family, and are rightly admired for suppressing piracy in the Inner Sea during the Heian period of Japanese history. The family came to exercise exceptional power and influence after the “Hogen Disturbance” of 1156. The Taira backed the right side, helped to crush Fujiwara and eventually saw the Minamoto family banished or decapitated. Taira Kiyomori became prime minister and manoeuvred many of his relatives into court positions, and his daughter into the imperial bed. His scheming apparently came to fruition when he had his grandson enthroned as Emperor Antoku. This act enraged crown prince Mochihito, Antoku’s older half-brother, and he called upon the surviving Minamoto lords to fight the Taira. The result was civil war, a civil war that could be blamed upon Taira Kiyomori and his machinations. He did bypass the legitimate line of succession. That is certainly what the Minamoto would have everyone believe.

Whatever the causes of the war, the Taira have not unreasonable expectations of victory. They control the Emperor and are, in all but name, the legal government. Their enemies are rebels. The Taira are rightly seen as expert seamen, and something of a military family, giving them strength on land and sea. Their shipyards produce high-quality ships and crews, and all Taira troops are given extremely good training: the equivalent of having experienced recruits. They are not, however, a very forgiving people, and they get a repression bonus in any province they control, keeping the people under tight control.