Minamoto no Yoshikiyo (Sakyo no gon no daibu) (源義清 (左京権大夫))

MINAMOTO no Yoshikiyo (year of birth and death unknown) was the fourth son of MINAMOTO no Yoshitada. He held the post of Sakyo no gon no daibu (Provisional Master of the Eastern Capital Offices) and his official court rank was Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade).

According to his family tree, Yoshikiyo's mother was a daughter of TAIRA no Tadamori. This is incorrect based on the dates, however, making it more likely that Yoshikiyo's mother was a daughter of TAIRA no Masamori and a sister of Tadamori. In any case, these relationships indicate the connection between Yoshitada and the Ise-Heishi (Taira clan), and it is these relationships that are considered to be one of the remote causes for some of Yoshitada's descendants to side with the Taira family during the Jisho-Juei War later on. It has also been inferred that the character '清' representing the "kiyo" in TAIRA no "Kiyomori" as well as in "Yoshikiyo" comes from the fact that Yoshikiyo was eboshioya (the person who wears an eboshi [black-lacquered headgear, which is made of silk, cloth or paper, originally worn by court nobles in ancient Japan, and afterwards spreading to the common people] at Kiyomori's coming of age ceremony). The character '忠' representing the "tada" of "Tadamori," who was Kiyomori's father, was also used based on the fact that MINAMOTO no Yoshitada was Tadamori's eboshioya; this shows the intimate relationship between Tadamori, his son Kiyomori, Yoshitada and his son Yoshikiyo.

Yoshikiyo held positions such as Uemon no jo (the third ranked official of the Right Division of Outer Palace Guards) and Hyogo no suke (assistant director of military storehouses). His son, MINAMOTO no Yoshihisa, had the rank of Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade) and held the position of Saemon no jo (Third-ranked Officer of the Left Division of Outer Palace Guards) and Inaba no suke (assistant governor of Inaba Province). Yoshihisa's son, MINAMOTO no Yoshitaka, had the rank of Jugoinoge and held the position of Kunai shoyu (Junior Assistant Minister of the Sovereign's Household).

People living today with the family name Minamoto are not necessarily related to the historical Minamoto clan, but for the descendants of MINAMOTO no Yoshikiyo, the name is still used as a relevant surname; there are also descriptions in historical materials from the Edo period about how Minamoto was used as a Myoji or Sei (family name). The descendants of MINAMOTO no Yoshitaka (Sahyoe no gon no suke [Provisional Assistant Captain of the Left Division of Middle Palace Guards]) and MINAMOTO no Yoshikatsu, who were Yoshikiyo's brothers, also use the name of Minamoto as their surname in addition to the descendants of Yoshikiyo.

[Original Japanese]