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His Body Burned Like Fire — The Fierce Death of Taira no Kiyomori

In 1181, Kiyomori at the height of his power collapsed with a mysterious fever so intense that water sputtered and evaporated on contact. His dying words: 'Place Yoritomo's head before my grave.' He died at 64 — a prelude to the Taira's fall.

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In 1181, at the height of his power, Kiyomori collapsed with a fever so intense that, per the Tale of the Heike, water evaporated on contact with his body. His dying words demanded Yoritomo’s head be placed before his grave. He died at 64, consumed by hatred. Four years later the Taira were annihilated at Dan-no-ura — the very image of ‘the mighty must fall.’

Portrait of Taira no Kiyomori — who fell from the height of glory to a fatal fever, leaving dying words of hatred for Yoritomo

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

The great torii of Itsukushima — symbol of Kiyomori's glory. Four years after his death, the Taira perished at Dan-no-ura

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Noh performance — the rise and fall of the Taira lives on in the Tale of the Heike, dramatized in Noh and Kabuki; the symbol of 'the mighty must fall'

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Key Figures

Taira no Kiyomori

Head of the Taira Clan, Grand Minister of State

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