The Fujiwara Regents Flashcards
Fujiwara no Fuhito
Fujiwara no Fuhito (659 – September 13, 720) was a powerful member of the imperial court of Japan during the Asuka and Nara periods. Second son of Fujiwara no Kamatari (or, according to one theory, of Emperor Tenji), he had sons by two women, and those sons were the founders of the four principal lineages of the Fujiwara clan: the South, North, Ceremonial, and Capital lineages.
During the reign of Emperor Monmu, the government ordered that only the descendants of Fuhito could bear the Fujiwara surname and could be appointed in the Office of Dajokan, the center of administratives.
State 3 ways in which the Fujiwara achieved power.
Relentless use of political pressure thru: [1] matrimonial relations with the throne and [2] their great wealth (by land)/influence in the provinces. Land is the key to political history in Japan, at almost every point.
Fujiwara no Yoshifusa
Fujiwara no Yoshifusa (804 – October 7, 872), also known as Somedono no Daijin or Shirakawa-dono, was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period.
When Yoshifusa’s grandson was enthroned as Emperor Seiwa, Yoshifusa assumed the role of regent (sesshō) for the young monarch (858-872). He was the first sesshō in Japanese history who was not himself of imperial rank; and he was the first of a series of regents from the Fujiwara clan.
Emperor Seiwa
Originally under the guardianship of his maternal grandfather Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, he displaced Imperial Prince Koretaka (惟喬親王) as Crown Prince. Upon the death of his father in 858, Emperor Montoku, he became Emperor at the age of 9, but the real power was held by his grandfather, Yoshifusa.
Fujiwara no Mototsune
Fujiwara no Mototsune (836 – February 25, 891), also known as Horikawa Daijin (堀川大臣), was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician of the early Heian period.
He was born the third son of Fujiwara no Nagara, but was adopted by his powerful uncle Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, who had no sons. Mototsune followed in Yoshifusa’s footsteps, holding power in the court in the position of regent for four successive emperors.
Mototsune invented the position of kampaku regent for himself in order to remain in power even after an emperor reached maturity. This innovation allowed the Fujiwara clan to tighten its grip on power right throughout an emperor’s reign.
Mototsune is referred to as Shōsen Kō (昭宣公) (posthumous name as Daijō Daijin).
Emperor Yōzei
Emperor Yōzei was the 57th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Yōzei’s reign spanned the years from 876 through 884.
Yōzei was the oldest son of Emperor Seiwa. His mother was the Empress Fujiwara no Takaiko, who was also known after Seiwa’s abdication as the Nijō empress. Yōzei’s mother was the sister of Fujiwara no Mototsune, who would figure prominently in the young emperor’s life.
He was insane and criminal. he was removed from office at the age of 17 (884).
In ancient Japan, there were four noble clans, the Gempeitōkitsu (源平藤橘). One of these clans, the Minamoto clan (源氏) are also known as Genji, and of these, the Yōzei Genji (陽成源氏) are descended from the 57th emperor Yōzei.
Yōzei had nine Imperial children, born after he had abdicated.
Emperor Uda
Emperor Uda (宇多天皇, Uda-tennō, June 10, 866 – September 3, 931) was the 59th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
In the beginning of Uda’s reign, Mototsune held the office of kampaku (or chancellor). Emperor Uda’s reign is marked by a prolonged struggle to reassert power by the Imperial Family away from the increasing influence of the Fujiwara, beginning with the death of Mototsune in 891.
Emperor Uda stopped the practice of sending ambassadors to China (“ken-toh-shi” 遣唐使).
Uda’s reign spanned the years from 887 through 897.
In 897, Uda abdicated in favor of his eldest son, Prince Atsuhito, who would later come to be known as Emperor Daigo. Uda left behind an hortatory will or testament which offered general admonitions or precepts[16] for his son’s guidance (see excerpt at right). The document praises Fujiwara no Tokihira as an advisor but cautions against his womanizing; and Sugawara no Michizane is praised as Uda’s mentor. Both were assigned by Emperor Uda to look after his son until the latter reach maturity.
Three years later, he entered the Buddhist priesthood at age 34 in 900.[15] Having founded the temple at Ninna-ji, Uda made it his new home after his abdication.
Sugawara no Michizane
Sugawara no Michizane (August 1, 845 – March 26, 903), also known as Kan Shōjō (菅丞相) or Kanke (菅家), was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in Kanshi poetry, and is today revered in Shinto as the god of learning, Tenman-Tenjin (天満天神, often shortened to Tenjin).
With his term as governor completed in 890, Michizane returned to the Court in Kyoto. In Emperor Uda’s struggles to restore power to the Imperial Family, away from the Fujiwara, a number of officials from non-Fujiwara families were promoted to key positions, including Imperial offshoots in the Minamoto family and Sugawara no Michizane. In a rapid series of promotions beginning in 891, Michizane rose to the senior third rank in 897.
Within the abdication of Emperor Uda, Michizane’s position became increasingly vulnerable and eventually died in exile. After Michizane’s death, plague and drought spread and sons of Emperor Daigo died in succession. Today many Shinto shrines in Japan are dedicated to him. He became the most notable example of a Japanese spirit, Goryo, which is a vengeful violent ghost, mostly of a former aristocrat martyred, seeking for revenge.
Ako Controversy
The Ako Controversy (阿衡の紛議) or Ako Incident (阿衡事件) was a political controversy that occurred in the early Heian Period of Japanese history.
On November 21, 887 AD, the newly enthroned Emperor Uda issued an imperial edict assigning Fujiwara no Mototsune as Kanpaku (Chief Imperial Advisor). However, the Emperor, together with Tachibana no Hiromi, then issued a second edict equating “Kanpaku” with “Ako”. Ako, which comes from the Chinese title a-heng, was said to be just a title without any official duties, which would effectively dismiss Mototsune from the government. This imperial edict triggered the Ako Controversy.
In April 888 AD, Emperor Uda ordered experts to make sure that Ako meant not performing any official duties. But the experts failed to do so, afraid of the Fujiwara house’s influence. In June, the Emperor decided to cancel the imperial edicts, which is considered the “first real setback of his career”. The controversy ended with Fujiwara no Mototsune being made kanpaku and the term “Ako” removed from the imperial edict.
How long were the Fujiwara in “power”?
From 850 to the final collapse in 1167 all important offices were held by bearers of the Fujiwara name; with the occasional exception.
Fujiwara no Tokihira
Fujiwara no Tokihira (871 – April 26, 909) was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period.
This member of the Fujiwara clan was the son of Fujiwara no Mototsune.
In 900, Tokihira accused Sugawara no Michizane of plotting against the emperor. This led to Michizane’s exile to the Dazaifu in Kyūshū.
Despite popular conjecture, he was a vigorous, practical administrator who saw clearly the need for reform.
Taira no Masakado
Taira no Masakado (died March 25, 940) was a samurai in the Heian period of Japan, who led one of the largest insurgent forces in the period against the central government of Kyoto.
Fujiwara no Sumitomo
Fujiwara no Sumitomo (died 941) was a Japanese Heian era court noble and warrior. From 939 to 941 he aided the Taira clan in a series of revolts.
Sumitomo built his power base in Northern Kyushu. After making a secret agreement with Taira no Masakado, who was leading a revolt in Shimōsa Province, Sumitomo led his own revolt in Iyo province in 939, and soon afterwards invaded the provinces of Harima and Bizen. The revolt quickly spread throughout the whole San’yō region.
Pursued by imperial forces led by Ono Yoshifuru and Minamoto no Tsunemoto, Sumitomo fled to Dazaifu, burning down the Dazaifu headquarters before he was defeated in battle at Hakata Bay. He then fled back to Iyo province, where he was captured. He was executed shortly afterwards, in 941, by Tachibana Tōyasu.
His father was Fujiwara no Yoshinori, and he was the ancestor of the Arima clan of Hizen province.
Describe the transition of the loyal provincial warrior clans during and after the fall of Masakado in mid 10th century Japan.
They began as peacemakers and guardians of order, but for a century struggle among themselves for wealth and political authority. They were content for a time with being “claws and teeth” of civil autocrats, but this soon changed as they transitioned into feudal lords.
