Fujiwara no Yoshifusa

Fujiwara no Yoshifusa (藤原良房, 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. 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.

Career

He was a minister during the reigns of Emperor Ninmyō, Emperor Montoku and Emperor Seiwa.

834 (Jōwa 1, 9th day of the 7th month): Sangi
835 (Jōwa 2): Gon-no-Chūnagon
840 (Jōwa 7): Chūnagon
842 (Jōwa 9): Dainagon
848 (Saikō 1, 1st month): Udaijin
857 (Saikō 4, 19th day of the 2nd month): Daijō Daijin
858 (Ten'an 2, 7th day of the 11th month): Sesshō for Emperor Seiwa.
October 7, 872 (Jōgan 14, 2nd day of the 9th month): Yoshifusa died at the age of 69.

Yoshifusa conceived the programme of boy-sovereigns with Fujiwara regents; and his adopted son, Mototsune, carried out the plans.

Genealogy

This member of the Fujiwara clan was the son of Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu. Yoshifusa's brothers were Fujiwara no Nagayoshi, Fujiwara no Yoshisuke and Fujiwara no Yoshikado.

Marriages and children

He was married to Minamoto no Kiyohime (源潔姫), daughter of Emperor Saga.

They had only one daughter.

Akirakeiko/Meishi (明子) (829–899), consort of Emperor Montoku

He adopted his brother Nagara's third son.

Mototsune (基経) (836–891) – Daijō Daijin and Kampaku

Yoshifusa is referred to as Chūjin Kō (忠仁公) (posthumous title was Daijō Daijin).

Notes

References

Brinkley, Frank and Dairoku Kikuchi. (1915). A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era. New York: Encyclopædia Britannica. OCLC 413099
Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; OCLC 251325323
(in Japanese) Hioki, S. (1990). Nihon Keifu Sōran. Tokyo: Kōdansya.
(in Japanese) Kasai, M. (1991). Kugyō Bunin Nenpyō. Tokyo: Yamakawa Shuppan-sha
(in Japanese) Kodama, K. (1978). Nihon-shi Shō-jiten, Tennō. Tokyo: Kondō Shuppan-sha.
Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128
(in Japanese) Owada, T. et al. (2003). Nihonshi Shoka Keizu Jimmei Jiten. Tokyo: Kōdansya.
Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691