The Tale of the Heike Characters
The Tale of the Heike has a huge cast: the mighty Taira no Kiyomori and his clan at the height of their glory, the Minamoto commanders Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Kiso no Yoshinaka who brought them down, young and old warriors who died on the battlefield, and women and monks whose lives were shaken by those in power. This page introduces the main characters, explaining who each one is and what they do in the story.
All characters22
Taira no Kiyomori
The all-powerful head of the Heike clan
Taira no Kiyomori was a warrior at the end of the Heian period who rose to become Grand Chancellor (Daijō-daijin), the first warrior ever to hold that office, and who…
Appears in 6 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 6, Episode 14Minamoto no Yoshitsune
The brilliant general who destroyed the Heike
Minamoto no Yoshitsune was the younger brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo and the Minamoto general who destroyed the Heike in the Genpei War. His childhood name was…
Appears in 5 episodes: Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13Kenreimon-in (Taira no Tokuko) Kenreimon-in
The empress who alone survived her clan
Kenreimon-in is the title of Taira no Tokuko, the daughter of Taira no Kiyomori and his wife Tokiko. She became the consort of Emperor Takakura and gave birth to…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 4, Episode 13, Episode 14Taira no Atsumori
The 17-year-old flute-playing noble
Taira no Atsumori was a young Heike noble, the son of Kiyomori's younger brother Tsunemori, who was killed at the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani at the age of seventeen. He was…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 11, Episode 14Kumagai no Naozane Kumagai no Jirō Naozane
The eastern warrior who wept after killing Atsumori
Kumagai no Naozane was a Minamoto-side warrior from Kumagai in Musashi Province (today's Saitama Prefecture), best known for killing Taira no Atsumori at the Battle of…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 11, Episode 14Nasu no Yoichi Nasu no Yoichi Munetaka
The archer who hit the fan target
Nasu no Yoichi was a warrior from Nasu in Shimotsuke Province (today's Tochigi Prefecture) and a master archer who, at the Battle of Yashima, hit a fan raised on a…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 12, Episode 14Kiso no Yoshinaka Minamoto no Yoshinaka
The fierce Kiso general who drove the Heike from the capital
Kiso no Yoshinaka is Minamoto no Yoshinaka, a Minamoto general raised in Kiso in Shinano Province and a cousin of Minamoto no Yoritomo. He defeated a huge Heike army…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 7, Episode 9, Episode 14Taira no Tomomori
The able general who led the Heike at Dan-no-Ura
Taira no Tomomori was the fourth son of Taira no Kiyomori and the general who commanded the Heike forces at the Battle of Dan-no-Ura. He is portrayed as one of the…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 13, Episode 14Lady Nii (Taira no Tokiko) Taira no Tokiko
Kiyomori's wife, who leapt into the sea holding the child emperor
Lady Nii is Taira no Tokiko, the wife of Taira no Kiyomori. She was the mother of Kenreimon-in and the grandmother of Emperor Antoku. Because she became a nun along…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 6, Episode 13, Episode 14Emperor Antoku
The eight-year-old emperor lost at Dan-no-Ura
Emperor Antoku was the son of Emperor Takakura and Kenreimon-in (Tokuko), and the grandson of Taira no Kiyomori. He took the throne at the age of three by traditional…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 8, Episode 13, Episode 14Shunkan
The monk left alone on an island
Shunkan was a Buddhist monk who served as the chief administrator of Hosshō-ji temple in Kyoto. For taking part in the Shishigatani plot, a secret plan to overthrow the…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 14Giō
The dancer cast aside by Kiyomori
Giō was a celebrated shirabyōshi (a female performer who sang and danced) in the capital and the favorite of Taira no Kiyomori. When Kiyomori's affection shifted to…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 2, Episode 14Hotoke Gozen
The dancer who gave up glory to become a nun
Hotoke Gozen was a famous sixteen-year-old shirabyōshi dancer who came to the capital from Kaga Province (today's Ishikawa Prefecture). She won Kiyomori's favor, but…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 2Taira no Tadanori
The warrior-poet who loved waka
Taira no Tadanori was the youngest brother of Taira no Kiyomori and a Heike general who held the post of Governor of Satsuma (Satsuma no Kami). He was also a poet who…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 8, Episode 10, Episode 14Minamoto no Yorimasa
The old warrior who shot the nue and rose in revolt
Minamoto no Yorimasa was an aging Minamoto warrior famous for his skill at archery and poetry. Past the age of seventy, he rose against the Heike with Prince Mochihito…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 5, Episode 14Saitō no Sanemori Saitō Bettō Sanemori
The old warrior who dyed his white hair for battle
Saitō no Sanemori was a warrior from Nagai in Musashi Province. Once a follower of the Minamoto, he later joined the Heike side, and as an old man he was killed at the…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 6, Episode 7Taira no Tadamori
Kiyomori's father, who outwitted a night ambush
Taira no Tadamori was the father of Taira no Kiyomori and the first warrior allowed to enter the courtiers' hall (the Tenjō no Ma of the Seiryōden) in the imperial…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 11, Episode 14Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa
The cloistered emperor who outlasted the Genpei War
Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa was a former emperor who stayed at the center of politics long after giving up the throne, later as a cloistered emperor after becoming a…
Appears in 4 episodes: Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 8, Episode 14Minamoto no Yoritomo
The Minamoto leader who defeated the Heike from Kamakura
Minamoto no Yoritomo was the leader of the Minamoto clan who defeated the Heike and set up a warrior government in Kamakura. He later became shogun, the first of the…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 9Taira no Shigemori
Kiyomori's heir, who held his father back
Taira no Shigemori was the eldest son and heir of Taira no Kiyomori, a Heike general who rose to the post of Minister of the Center (Naidaijin). He is portrayed as calm…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 14Taira no Noritsune
The Heike's strongest archer and fiercest fighter
Taira no Noritsune was a Heike general, the son of Kiyomori's younger brother Norimori, who held the post of Governor of Noto (Noto no Kami). He was known as the…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 12, Episode 13Taira no Munemori
Head of the Heike after Kiyomori's death
Taira no Munemori was the third son of Taira no Kiyomori. After the deaths of his elder brother Shigemori and his father Kiyomori, he became head of the Heike clan.
Appears in 4 episodes: Episode 5, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 13