Taira no Masakado (平将門) (?–940 C.E.) was a member of the Kammu Taira clan of Japan. He was the son of Taira no Yoshimasa , shogun of Chinjufu .
In 939 C.E., during the Heian Period of Japanese history, he rebelled by attacking the outpost of the central government in Hitachi Province, capturing the governor. In December of that year he conquered Shimotsuke and Kozuke provinces, and claimed the title of New Emperor. The central government in Kyoto responded by putting a bounty on his head, and 59 days later his cousin Sadamori, whose father Masakado had attacked and killed, and Fujiwara no Hidesato, killed him and took his head to the capital.
