Taira no Tadanori


Taira no Tadanori was the brother of clan head Taira no Kiyomori, and one of his generals in the Genpei War against the Minamoto.
Tadanori also took part in the Battle of Fujigawa.
Tadanori also fought against Minamoto no Yoshinaka in the Battle of Kurikara.
According to the Tale of the Heike, before fleeing the capital, he visited Fujiwara no Shunzei to deliver a "hundred or so" poems. Shunzei included one anonymously in the Senzaishu. The poem read, "In ruins now, the old capital of Shiga by the waves, yet the wild cherries of Nagara still bloom as before."
He was killed in the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani. Tadanori had a son named Taira no Tadayuki.
Tadanori is featured as the title character in a Noh play by Zeami; in the play, his spirit returns to the mortal world to plead for recognition for having authored a well-known poem. According to the Heike Monogatari, a poem was found in his quiver after his death. The poem reads: "Were I, still traveling as night falls, to make a sheltering tree my inn, then would my host tonight be the blossoms themselves?" In reference to this, Zeami designates a cherry tree as Tadanori's grave marker, and makes it the site of his play.