Taira no Shigehira

Taira no Shigehira was a son of Taira no Kiyomori and Taira no Tokiko, and a full younger brother of Munemori and Tomomori. He was born in 1157 (Hōgen 2) and was beheaded beside the Kizu River on the twenty-third day of the sixth month of 1185 (Genryaku 2). He is said to have been 29 years old.

The Burning of Nara's Temples

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month of 1180 (Jishō 4), Shigehira's forces attacked Nara and set fire to the halls and pagodas of Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji. The Great Buddha was also destroyed in the fire. The Heike Monogatari says the fire spread when flames from private houses were carried by the wind.

Capture at Ichi-no-tani

In the second month of 1184 (Juei 3), at the Battle of Ichi-no-tani, his horse was shot and he was taken prisoner. The Azuma Kagami names Kajiwara Kagetoki as his captor, while the Heike Monogatari names Kajiwara Kagesue. In the third month of the same year he was taken to Kamakura and met Minamoto no Yoritomo. The Heike Monogatari describes Senju-no-mae consoling him in Kamakura, but this is taken to be a literary depiction.

Death in Nara

In the sixth month of 1185 (Genryaku 2), Shigehira left Kamakura for Nara and was handed over to envoys of Tōdai-ji on the twenty-second day. On the following day he was beheaded beside the Kizu River, and his head is said to have been displayed at the gate of Hanjō-ji on Narasaka.

Rebuilding Tōdai-ji

Most of the major buildings of Tōdai-ji, including the Great Buddha Hall, were lost in the burning. The rebuilding was directed by Chōgen (Shunjōbō Chōgen), and the Great Buddha Hall was rebuilt in the early Kamakura period. The court diary Gyokuyō records, in the entry for the fifteenth day of the intercalary second month of 1181 (Jishō 5), an assessment of Shigehira's skill as a commander.