Fujiwara no Kiyohira

Fujiwara no Kiyohira (藤原 清衡^?, 1056 – August 10, 1128) was a samurai of mixed Japanese-Emishi parentage of the late Heian period (794–1185), who was the founder of the Hiraizumi or Northern Fujiwara dynasty that ruled Northern Japan from about 1100 to 1189.

Kiyohira was the son of Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo and a daughter of Abe no Yoritoki whose name is not known. He was born somewhere in the Kitakami Basin in 1056. His father was of the Hidesato branch of the Fujiwara clan which was known for their fighting ability. Even so, Tsunekiyo was a mid-level bureaucrat at Fort Taga in present-day Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture when he married his Emishi wife, left his position and went to live with his wife's family in present-day Iwate Prefecture. Thus, Kiyohira was born in an Emishi household in Emishi territory to a father who was considered a traitor by the Japanese authorities.

Much of his early life was spent in a community at war with the Japanese central authorities. The Earlier Nine Years' War (Zenkunen War, 前九年合戦) was fought on and off from 1050 to 1062 while the Latter Three Years War (Gosannen War, 後三年合戦) ran from 1083 to 1087. He lost his grandfather, Abe no Yoritoki, in battle in 1057, his uncle Sadato in 1062 and all of his mother's brothers were deported to Kyūshū in the same year. His own father was personally beheaded by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (源 頼義) with a blunt sword. These are the events which would shape his life and influence his decisions as long as he lived.

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