Taira no Kiyomori

Taira no Kiyomori (平 清盛; Japanese pronunciation: [taꜜi.ɾa no | kʲi.joꜜ.mo.ɾʲi], 1118 – March 20, 1181) was a Japanese military leader and kugyō of the late Heian period, who was Daijō-daijin and the de facto ruler of Japan from 1167 until his death. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan.

He has been dubbed one of "Japan's Three Great Villains" (日本三大梟雄), a nickname he shared with Ashikaga Takauji and Dōkyō, given by Confucian-minded historians due to their lack of loyalty to the throne.