Surrounded by the ocean on all sides, Japan has prospered through cultural  exchange with East Asian continent for more than two thousand years. Japan has  continued with the history of peace because the sea became a natural shield and  it was able to defend against the invasion of foreign enemies attacking using  the sea route. Therefore, since the Yamato Imperial Court, the capital, which is  the nerve center of politics, was in the present Nara and Kyoto, located in a  safe mountain that the Seto Inland Sea passed through from the ocean coast. In  addition, the ports on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea have also played a role  as important positions for overseas trade, indispensable when the envoys to  China(遣唐使/Japanese Missions to Tang Dynasty) and Korea(遣新羅使/Japanese Missions to  Shilla Dynasty) set sail from the inner world to the outside world.

In the 8th century, Seppan-Gohaku(摂藩五泊) was built which became a major port on  the Seto Inland Sea coast. Ships sailing in and out of the Seto Inland Sea  formerly only sailed during the day and berthed in the evening in port, waiting  for wind and tide. Owada No Tomari is located in the present-day Kobe and was  regarded as the most important port among the Sppan-Gohaku because it is closest  to Kyoto. Contributions and goods from various places carried through the Seto  Inland Sea were unloaded here and then loaded onto riverboats and brought to  Kyoto by going up the Yodo River. Also, Owada No Tomari flourished as a trading  base with East Asian continent.

When talking about the history of the international maritime city of Kobe, Owada  No Tomari, which is adjacent to Kobe, and Taira No Kiyomori are indispensable  keywords.

(1) The history of Taira No Kiyomori and the Heishi clan

Taira No Kiyomori(1118-1181) is the first Bushi(武士/a warrior) to hold power  surpassing the royal family and is renowned as the person who built the  world of Bushi administration lasting 700 years thereafter.

According to sources, the Heishi clan descended from the Imperial House of  Japan from the Emperor Kanmu bloodline, but the Heishi clan of around the  12th century served the royal family and the aristocracy while remaining in  a low official position¹.

The Heishi clan when Kiyomori was born originally played an active part on  Ise No Kuni(伊勢国)(present-day Mie Prefecture) as a base for  generations².

Ise No Kuni, located on the Pacific side, is an area developed as a starting  point for maritime transportation connecting the Kanto region to the Kyushu,  Shikoku and Chugoku regions by way of the Seto Inland Sea. Heishi clan  actively participated in marine advancement based in this area, striving to  establish shipbuilding and a maritime transportation route through  cooperation with residents of fishing village and the navy. The three  generations of Kiyomori’s grandfather Masamori, his father Tadamori,  and Kiyomori, and the primary factor for their prosperity based on benefits  of the sea without giving up on their intentions for the sea can be found at  the roots of the Heishi clan.

It was Kiyomori’s father, Tadamori(1096-1153) who dramatically expanded the  power of the Heishi clan. Tadamori solidified his stronghold in the central  government by being useful for Shirakawa-Hōō(白河法皇) and the former Empero  Toba-jyōkō(鳥羽上皇) who reigned in the Imperial Court as the highest power of  the present day. When Tadamori was appointed to track down and kill pirates,  he strived to suppress pirates who reigned in the Seto Inland Sea, Awaji  Island, and Shikoku, and in the process, it is said that he promoted them  from “pirates” to “military”, that is, regular army.

Pirates of that time were also maritime intellectuals with information power  of not only tidal current, but topography, weather, astronomy, steering,  shipping, transportation, maritime law, and economics. Tadamori ruled these  pirates under his control and made use of their knowledge to build a  foothold for the family ocean expansion.

He also earned a financial fortune by independently trading with Song using  his position of managing Bizen Kanzaki No Sho(備前神崎荘), which was trading with  Song under the jurisdiction of the royal family.

In relation to the above-mentioned focus on Tadamori trade, a brief  description of the history of Japan’s foreign trade will be  given.

Since ancient times, Japan has continually interacted with with East Asian  continent. Under the Ritsuryō system, public trade under so-called state  control was mainstream, and trade was promoted in the form of attending a  cultural mission represented by Japanese Missions to Tang China.

In the 12th century, the way of trade reached a turning point. Following the  development of shipbuilding technology and the destabilization of China’s  state of affairs, trade at private level became prosperous. Kiyomori’s  father, Tadamori, took advantage of the shift from public trade to private  trade. He put Bizen Kanzaki No Sho and Dazaifu(博多/present-day Hakata) in  direct control and put effort into private trade. The primary factor for him  becoming a courtier of Shirakawa-Hōō and Toba-jyōkō was his financial  strength obtained by these private trade.

Kiyomori also actively engaged in trade with his father at Bizen Kanzaki No  Sho and Dazaifu. He may had thought of this economic advantage to later  conceive nation-building that required trade.

(2) Achievement of Taira no Kiyomori Part One “Advancement to the central government”

Kiyomori, who became head of the Heishi clan after the death of Tadamori,  would eventually achieve remarkable success.

In addition to winning the Hōgen No Ran³ and the Heiji No Ran⁴, he accomplished rapid promotion, as well  as defeating the head of the Genji clan, Minamoto No Yoshitomo, who was a  rival for many years as the same warrior class, and in the end became the  champion Bushi. Through victory in the two rebellions, it can be said that  it demonstrated to the public that the power of the Bushi is indispensable  for the royal family and aristocrats.

Kiyomori served as director consecutively of Bizen(present-day Okayama  Prefecture), Aki(present-day Hiroshima Prefecture), and Harima(present-day  Hyogo Prefecture) and was soon selected to be Dazai No Daini(太宰大弐/chief  director of Dazaifu). Dazaifu is an international port that prospered from  foreign trade through Japanese Missions to Tang China from around the 7th  century. By obtaining control of Dazaifu, nation-building based on the  Japan-Song trade would finally begin.

(3) Achievement of Taira no Kiyomori Part Two “nation-building that requires Japan-Song trade”

Kiyomori thought that trade would enrich the country and the people. His life  ambition was to build a nation that required Japan-Song trade. Noteworthy is  the establishment of bay coast facilities in the expanse of the Seto Inland  Sea. It has been reported that the excavation construction work of  “Ondo-No-seto” in present day Hiroshima Prefecture, which was a choke point  of the Seto Inland Sea route, and the refurbishment of the port of  “Sode-No-minato” in present day in Hakata was by Kiyomori. Moreover, he  believed that the advent of family glory was dependent on ocean guardian  deity of Itsukushima, and carried out a major construction of Itsukushima  Shrine. Regarding the construction of Itsukushima Shrine, it is largely due  to a display of power and religious motivation, but we can not overlook that  this area of sea was highly regarded in transportation and navy formation in  the Seto Inland Sea.

These were sophisticated construction work suspected to be feasible with the  technological strength of the time, but it can be said that it is a great  undertaking that reveals Kiyomori’s precise nature observation, creativity  and strong passion for the sea.

At that time, Kobe was called “Fukuhara”(福原). Kiyomori was quick to keep an  eye on the latent potential of this Fukuhara. Why Fukuhara? One of the  reasons is the existence of Owada No Tomari. As mentioned previously, Owada  No Tomari was an important port of the Seto Inland Sea route and had been  developing from long ago as a base for domestic maritime transportation and  foreign trade. Kiyomori who wanted Owada No Tomari got the Fukuhara  territory and soon started large-scale renovation so that Owada No Tomari  would be the second Hakata, a hub for Japan-Song trade.

The renovation work was major as they leveled the neighboring shiotsuchi-Yama  to build an artificial island in front of the port with the earth and sand,  in order to prevent strong winds and waves from destroying the port  facility. It is said that construction was extremely difficult, therefore  various episodes are reported such as: as soon as the sun was about to set,  Kiyomori would beckon the setting sun back with a fan, or, dismiss the  opinion to build a human pillar from superstitious surrounding people Human  sacrifice(人身御養), stones transcribed with Buddhist scriptures were piled into  small boats, which were sunk to build the foundation of the island. It is  said that this island has become known as “Kyoga-Shima”(経ヶ島/means The island  of Buddhist scriture) because of the legend associated with these  stones.

Along with renovation of Owada No Tomari, Japan-Song trade led by Kiyomori  increasingly gathered momentum.

In 1170, a direct ship from Song that did not pass through Hakata entered  Owada No Tomari for the first time. As a result, Fukuhara became a trading  place of Song items and the main delivery entrance of Song money,  establishing its position as an international port both in name and  reality.⁵

The various items traded in Japan-Song trade were as follows.

Exports from Japan included silver and pearl, produced in Ise Province that  was the base of the Heishi clan, gold nuggets, wood such as cedar, pine, and  cypress, and handicrafts such as Japanese sword and lacquerware. From Song,  Song money, silk, books, stationery, fragrances, medicines, and works of art  such as ceramics and paintings were imported.⁶

Why did China choose Kiyomori as a point of contact for trade with Japan? In  the era of Kiyomori, Ming-Zhou(明州) was one of the most important trade port  in China since the middle period of the Tang Dynasty, which was managing  foreign trade in Song. Ming-Zhou’s trade administrative authority seemed to  put an emphasis on piracy suppression, and Ming-Zhou’s marine trade, which  was responsible for overseas trade affairs, presented to the Japanese side  the maximum requirements for safe operation of trade ships in promoting  trade with Japan. Especially in the Seto Inland Sea it is indispensable to  suppress pirates, and for that purpose, they decided they would like to take  measures against piracy by linking with the Heishi clan who were the most  powerful people in Japanese military aspects and had piracy suppression  know-how.⁷

(1) Taira No Kiyomori’s Fukuharu withdrawal and the launch of “the new Heishi’s dynasty”

Before long Kiyomori was promoted to Dajō Daijin(chief minister of the  government) which was likened to the highest position for humans at the  time. The reign period was only three months, but while in office he raised  the official position of his clan, solidifying the Heishi clan’s power in  the nerve center of politics.

In 1168, when Kiyomori was 50 years old, he got sick and almost died;  however, he miraculously recovered and decided to join the priesthood. He  retired to Fukuhara soon after joining the priesthood, and for 11 years he  lived in Fukuhara, and mostly did not go to the capital of Kyoto. However,  he was a nominal priest and it was a nominal retirement, and he continued to  have a strong influence and say on the Imperial Court as an influential  politician.

Here, we will mention on Kiyomori’s intentional retreat to  Fukuhara.

The royal family and aristocrats gradually raised a sense of restraint and  rebellion against the fact that political power was concentrated on the  Heishi clan, such as increase in enfeoffment by the Heishi clan and monopoly  of key positions. Even though aristocrats acknowledged that the Heishi  clan’s immense military power and financial strength was  indispensable to the Imperial Court, they were still reluctant to let the  Bushi take charge of the government, having contempt for their lowly  existence. Furthermore, in order to realize the nation-building that  requires Japan-Song trade, the existence of Kiyomori who breaks existing  practices and successively drives new measures such as the excavation of  Ondo-No-seto, Sode-No-Minato, renovation of Owada No Tomari, construction of  Itsukushima Shrine, and Song ships system of entry into inland sea ports,  was provoking and a nuisance for other aristocrats who value the  “importance of everything precedent”. For Kiyomori,  confronting such non-understanding and anti-resolution surroundings, must  had been frustrating as the nation building he envisioned was not  proceeding. After reflection, by moving his residence to Fukuhara, while  keeping the spatial and psychological distance from the central government,  Kiyomori chose to manipulate politics at will with strong power as before  from the far away land of Fukuhara. Fukuhara’s land gradually became  a base securing the Heishi clan’s political power stability and  autonomy, and eventually it would emerge as another capital, that is, the  Heishi clan capital.⁸

In 1179, an incident to overthrow the Heishi clan by the established forces  opposed to the Heishi clan occurred.9 Although it was exposed and suppressed  before it happened, this incident was the beginning, and Kiyomori ultimately  took a radical action in the form of a military coup. With the immense  military power of the Heishi clan, the old political regime(院政/cloistered  rule) that had been imposed for three generations of Shirakawa-in—Toba-In—Go  Shirakawa-In was stopped, and the Kiyomori dictatorship finally started.

(2) Vision of Fukuhara as capital

In the following year of 1180, Kiyomori who gained the status equivalent to a  monarch of the whole country from the earlier military coup, enthroned  Imperial Prince Tokihito, son of his daughter Empress Tokuko and Emperor  Takakura. Emperor Antoku, former Prince Tokihito was the first emperor with  Bushi blood. On June 2nd of the same year, Kiyomori decided to enter  Fukuhara, accompanied by Emperor Antoku, retired Emperor Takakura-Jōkō and  Go-Shirakawa-Hōō. The place where the Emperor is, is the capital of the  whole country. This was the so called “relocation of the capital to  Fukuhara”, and the establishment of “the New Heishi’s dynasty” with retired  Emperor Takakura and Emperor Antoku as the head.

Although it seemed like a rather impulsive and hurried relocation of the  capital, Kiyomori strived to build a new capital appropriate for the new  world. Meanwhile, while anti-Heishi clan momentum increased, among them the  Genji clan eldest son, Minamoto No Yoritomo, overthrown in the Heiji No Ran,  as well as Minamoto No Yoshinaka raised an army and national scale  rebellions successively broke out. Kiyomori made every effort to suppress  the rebellions, leaving no time to develop the new capital. Then, after an  appeal from family members, he reluctantly decided to return to the  capital.

Furthermore, another reason for returning the capital to Kyoto was to calm  the popular sentiment of anxiety and opposition that had strengthened to the  former relocation of the capital. At the same time as the relocation of the  capital to Fukuhara, natural disasters frequently occurred, and famine was  widespread, and people rumored that this was due to the relocation of the  capital. In the 8th century, there was a similar example of relocation of  the capital during the reign of Emperor Kanmu. When he relocated the capital  from Heijō-kyō to Nagaoka-kyō, floods and plague was widespread, Emperor  Kanmu was forced to return the capital to Heijōkyō again in order to appease  popular sentiment.

In addition, when planning the permanent renovation of Owada No Tomari and  the construction of Fukuhara-kyō, the public work done up until then was  from the private funds of the Heishi clan, then turned into a major plan  using the national treasury. As a result, excess tax collection and  mobilization of the labor force was carried out, and the Heishi clan was  abandoned not only by the central government but also by public  sentiment.

The vision for the marine capital Fukuhara that includes the international  trade port of Owada No Tomari fell apart in just five months. Not only was  the capital left incomplete, it was subsequently burned down by the enemy  army commander Minamoto No Yoshinaka, so details including the exact  location of Fukuhara-kyō, and how far construction progressed remain unknown  and lost in history.

In 1181, the next year after returning to the capital, while concentrating on  suppressing the rebel army and rebuilding the political regime, Kiyomori  died due to fever. He was 64 years old.

The Heishi clan who lost a huge leader of Taira No Kiyomori, followed the  road of decline, and in April 1185, after the last battle of the Genpei War  in Dan-no-ura, it finally collapsed.

In the Kamakura period(the latter half of the 12th century to the 14th century),  after Heishi clan completely collapsed, “Owada No Tomari” gradually  became known to the public as “Hyogono-tsu”.

Having suffered through two invasions by Mongolia(蒙古襲来), the Kamakura Bakufu began to  focus its efforts on strengthening its maritime defense more than the public trade  with East Asian continent .Kobe subsequently relinquished its place as a hub for  international trade, evident in the decision of the Kamakura Bakufu to abolish the  Japan-Song trade.

During the Muromachi Period(14th century to the 16th century), positive foreign trade  was encouraged under the influence of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third general Shogun  of Muromachi Bakufu. Widely regarded as a major port for the “Japan-Ming trade,” the  land of Kobe once again rose to prosperity. Trading vessels from China, Korea, and  Kingdom of the Ryukyu frequented ports in Kobe, and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu himself met  with an envoy from Ming in “Hyogono-Tsu”(Previously called “Fukuhara”, present-day  “Kobe”).

As the Sengoku age drew to a close and the Edo period(17th century to 18th century)  began, the economic center of Kinai(the metropolitan area) shifted to  Sakai(present-day located in “Osaka”), which compromised the prestige  of Kobe as an international port.

During the later years of the Edo period(the latter half of the 17th century),  Western countries requested the Edo Bakufu to open major ports such as Shimoda,  Yokohama and Hakodate.

At the same time, allied vessels from America, the Netherlands, England, who had long  been attracted to Kobe’s appeal and potential as an international harbor,  adamantly pressed for the opening of the port. Nonetheless, in consideration of  Kobe’s geographical proximity to the capital city of Kyoto, the Edo Bakufu  was hesitant to comply with such demands.

However, efforts made by the 15th general Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimitsu were eventually  realized with the opening of the port of Kobe in 1867, successfully marking  Kobe’s first step towards a modern international maritime city.

In 1995, The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck entire Hanshin region, including  Osaka, Awaji Island, and most importantly, Kobe. The aftermath of the earthquake was  so catastrophic to the point of which Kobe had to temporarily shut down its function  as an international port. Shutting down of the port resulted in a series of  crippling effects on the Japanese economy.

However, arduous efforts brought the region to full restoration within two years,  allowing Kobe to once again reclaim its position as a center of international  trade.

After the downfall of the Heishi clan, in the late Edo period(the latter half of the  17th century), the influence of Kobe that flourished as a result of the protection  of Kiyomori was lost. However, exactly 150 years ago, Kobe opened as a port for  various Western countries that had noticed its convenience, and again proceeded to  become the prosperous international marine city of “Kobe”.

The Heishi clan had power and survived the royal family and aristocracy and  eventually became supreme leader of the times. At the center, was Taira No  Kiyomori.However, as written in “The Tale of the Heike”, the masterpiece war  chronicle depicting the Buddhist sense of the vanity of life through the prosperity  and downfall of the Heishi clan, he seized the central government through a number  of evil and coercive policies, tormented the people as a “tyrant”, “dictator” and  “treacherous retainer”; hence, the evaluation for Kiyomori by subsequent generations  is not very good.

However, Kiyomori clearly envisioned how the country should be. This vision is  concisely expressed in “Build a rich country that is founded upon maritime trade”.  Of course, the core of the concept is maritime trade with East Asian countries based  on the international maritime city of “Kobe”. Make the country rich through trade,  from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south, the image of a rich country  connected by one transportation route and information network is the future that  Kiyomori dreamed of. Under the old customs at the time, it is easy to imagine that  it was impossible for the existing politicians who thought only of self-protection  to understand Kiyomori’s foresight and creativity. Therefore, under the  circumstances of opposition of surroundings and being isolated and helpless, the  concept of making Kobe a capital came to nothing in only 5 months, and eventually  the whole clan was destroyed.

Kiyomori’s ashes were stored at Hokkedo of Yamada(located in Kobe) according  to his will. Strangely, after his death he eventually returned to the land of Kobe,  the maritime capital he dreamed of while alive. Ferries connecting all areas of the  Seto Inland Sea and foreign freighters frequently pass through Yamada, which  overlooks Awaji Island and the Akashi Strait.

Kiyomori’s Buddhist name is “Jōkai(静海 or 浄海)”, and maybe Kiyomori wanted to  sleep eternally, wishing for a quiet sea, a clean sea, while listening to the fog  whistle of ships coming and going from the Akashi Strait. For Kiyomori living in the  sea and scattered in the sea, it can be said that there is no graveyard more  suitable¹⁰.