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Born the eldest son of Taira no Tadamori, Kiyomori became the greatest power of the late Heian period and the first samurai to hold the post of Grand Minister of State (Daijo-daijin). He crushed Minamoto no Yoshitomo and others in the Hogen Rebellion (1156) and Heiji Rebellion (1159), securing the foundation of Taira power. Appointed Grand Minister in 1167, he placed his daughter Tokuko in the imperial court as consort of Emperor Takakura and saw his grandson become Emperor Antoku — achieving as a warrior the kind of imperial family-marriage politics previously monopolized by the Fujiwara. He vigorously promoted trade with Song-dynasty China, developed the port of Owada-no-tomari (modern Kobe harbour), and amassed great wealth. He lavishly patronized Itsukushima Shrine as his clan's tutelary shrine, and most of the current shrine buildings are the result of his construction. In 1179 he confined Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa and consolidated autocratic control, but the following year Prince Mochihito issued a call to arms and Minamoto clans rose in revolt across the country. Kiyomori died of fever in 1181 at age 63. His spectacular rise and fall became the central theme of the Tale of the Heike, and he is remembered as the symbol of impermanence that opens with the bells of Gion Shoja.

Vigorous and decisive, with a curiosity and openness toward new things, though as his power grew his tendency toward high-handed autocracy intensified. His passion for Song-China trade and the development of Itsukushima Shrine reveal deep cultural and economic interests — he was no mere military strongman. Yet he did not shrink from forceful measures such as confining Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, and that arrogance sowed the seeds of the Taira downfall.

He blazed the trail for warriors to reach the pinnacle of court society, foreshadowing later samurai governments. Cultural and economic legacies that survive to the present day include the shrine buildings of Itsukushima (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the development of Owada-no-tomari in Hyogo. Through the Tale of the Heike he is deeply rooted in the Japanese aesthetic sensibility as a symbol of the impermanence of glory, and is the protagonist of what is considered the greatest masterpiece of medieval Japanese literature.