Biographies LXII: Fujiwara Regents and Ministers (Saneyori, Morosuke, Kinsue, Arihira)

Fujiwara-no-Saneyori

¶Fujiwara-no-Saneyori, whose childhood name was Ushikai (Note: following the Ōkagami), was the eldest son of the Kampaku, Regent, Tadahira (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He was gentle and refined by nature. Once, when a physiognomist came to court from Koma (Goguryeo), Saneyori was still young, and he mingled in the crowd dressed in the clothes of a man of low station. The physiognomist pointed to him and said, "This is a noble man" (Note: following the Ōkagami). At the end of the Engi era (c. 923) he was appointed Awa-no-gon-no-kami, Provisional Governor of Awa, and Uemon-no-suke, Assistant Captain of the Right Gate Guards. From then on he rose steadily in office and rank, and in the reign of Emperor Suzaku he was made Dainagon, Major Counsellor, and by imperial command took part in the presentation of state documents. Before long he was appointed Udaijin, Minister of the Right. He submitted three memorials declining the post, but this was not permitted. Next he concurrently became Bettō, Director, of the Kurōdodokoro, the Chamberlains' Office. At the beginning of Tenryaku (947) he was transferred to Sadaijin, Minister of the Left, and later concurrently served as Tōgū-no-fu, Tutor to the Crown Prince, and was granted Senior Second Rank. In the second year of Tentoku (958) he was permitted to enter and leave the palace gates in a hand-drawn carriage (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Ōkagami Uragaki). In the first year of Kōhō (964) he advanced to Junior First Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the second year (965) he was permitted to go directly up into the hall without joining the ranks on the day of the Sechie, the seasonal banquets (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Ōkagami Uragaki). In the fourth year (967) the emperor died. The Crown Prince should have ascended the throne, but he had fallen ill and could not appear at the Daigokuden, the Great Hall of State. Saneyori proposed that the accession ceremony be held for the first time in the Shishinden, the Hall for State Ceremonies. This was Emperor Reizei. The men of the time praised this (Note: following the Kojidan). The emperor commanded by edict that Saneyori take charge of affairs of state as Kampaku (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, the Kugyō Bunin, and the Ōkagami Uragaki). He was permitted to enter and leave the palace gates in an ox-drawn carriage (Note: following the Ōkagami Uragaki). Next he was appointed Daijō-daijin, Chancellor (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). In the first year of Anna (968) the emperor fell ill (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku) and commanded Saneyori to examine the documents presented to the throne. Saneyori too fell ill, and he was granted thirty persons to be admitted to the Buddhist orders. When Emperor En'yū ascended the throne as a child, Saneyori became Sesshō, Regent. In all things he followed the precedents of his father Tadahira (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). In the first year of Tenroku (970) he took to his sickbed. When his illness became grave, the emperor proclaimed a general amnesty throughout the realm in an effort to save him (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). He died at the age of seventy-one (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, the Kugyō Bunin, and the Ōkagami Uragaki). On the day of his death, high and low alike all gathered before his gate and mourned him aloud (Note: following the Gukanshō and the Kojidan). By edict he was posthumously granted Senior First Rank, posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Owari, and given the posthumous name Seishin (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, the Kugyō Bunin, and the Ōkagami Uragaki). He was known in his day as the Ononomiya-dono (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He wrote the Suishinki (Note: following the Ninnaji Shoseki Mokuroku). Saneyori was accomplished in affairs, cheerful, and a model to the world. When he lived in his own residence, he always put on his cap whenever he went out into the south garden. When people wondered at this and asked him why, he replied, "Mount Inari stands solemnly before my eyes; how could I fail to show it reverence?" When he happened to forget his cap, he covered his head with his sleeve and hurried inside. Such was his reverence (Note: following the Ōkagami). He also piled fruit beside his gate and let the children eat it freely; he listened to them talking over the wall, and in this way learned how matters stood in the world (Note: following the Kojidan). Many of the poems he composed are handed down in the world.

¶His eldest son Atsutoshi became Sakonoe-no-shōshō, Lesser Captain of the Left Palace Guards, but died before his father (Note: from "the eldest son" onward, following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Next came Yoritada. Next came Tadatoshi. Tadatoshi rose to Sangi, Consultant, and Junior Third Rank. In the first year of Tenen (973) (Note: the source writes 天廷 for Tenen) he died (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He had three sons: Takatō, Kanehira, and Sanesuke (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Takatō became Senior Third Rank, Dazai-no-daini, Deputy Governor-General of Dazaifu; in the second year of Chōwa (1013) he died. Kanehira rose to Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor, in the Chōwa era (1012-1017). In the first year of Kannin (1017) he died, at the age of sixty-five (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Sanesuke has a separate biography.

Fujiwara-no-Yoritada

¶Fujiwara-no-Yoritada. In the Tenroku era (970-973) Yoritada was appointed Gon-dainagon, Provisional Major Counsellor, concurrently became Sakonoe-no-taishō, Commander of the Left Palace Guards, and was made Udaijin, Minister of the Right. When the Regent Koretada died, he succeeded him as Chief of the Clan. At the beginning of Tenen (973) he was relieved of the position of Chief of the Clan, and the emperor commanded Kampaku Kanemichi to take it up instead (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Kanemichi had always been on good terms with Yoritada and consulted him on every matter of state, great or small (Note: following the Eiga Monogatari). In the first year of Jōgen (976) an edict commanded Yoritada to conduct affairs of government as Ichi-no-kami, Senior Minister. In the second year (977) he was transferred to Sadaijin, Minister of the Left, granted Senior Second Rank, and still concurrently served as Commander and Director of the Kurōdodokoro (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Yoritada had long enjoyed the esteem of the world, and Kanemichi too had always meant to raise Yoritada and have him take his own place (Note: following the Eiga Monogatari). In the winter of this year Kanemichi, sick as he was, was carried in a palanquin to the palace and held the appointments ceremony. He submitted: "Yoritada has the capacity for Kampaku. I ask to resign my post and yield it to him." The emperor followed his words and made Yoritada Kampaku that very day (Note: following the Gukanshō). He also became Chief of the Clan. He resigned the post of Commander, and was granted two Uchitoneri, Palace Attendants, and four men each from the Left and Right Palace Guards as his escorts. He then declined the Uchitoneri, and in their place two more men, one each from the Left and Right Guards Offices, were added and granted; by imperial command he was permitted to wear a sword at court and to enter and leave the palace gates in a hand-drawn carriage. At the beginning of Tengen (978) he was appointed Daijō-daijin, Chancellor, and was permitted an ox-drawn carriage. In the fourth year (981) he advanced to Junior First Rank, and in the reign of Emperor Kazan he continued in his former post. When Emperor Ichijō ascended the throne he ceased to be Kampaku. In the first year of Eiso (989) he died, at the age of sixty-six. He was posthumously granted Senior First Rank, posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Suruga, and given the posthumous name Renqi (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). His residence lay north of Sanjō (Note: following the Ōkagami). For this reason he was called the Sanjō Minister (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Kugyō Bunin). Yoritada was plain and frugal by nature, and even when he was Kampaku he always went to court wearing cloth trousers (Note: following the Ōkagami). His son Kintō has a separate biography (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Yoritō became Junior Fourth Rank Upper and Tosa-no-kami, Governor of Tosa (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Atsutoshi's son was Sukemasa (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Ōkagami).

Fujiwara-no-Sukemasa

¶Fujiwara-no-Sukemasa. Sukemasa was skilled in calligraphy and was ranked together with Prince Kaneakira and Fujiwara-no-Yukinari (Note: following the Gōdanshō). Between the Tentoku (957-961) and Tengen (978-983) eras he rose through successive offices to Sangi, Consultant, and was granted Junior Third Rank. In the Shōryaku era (990-995) he left the capital as Dazai-no-daini, Deputy Governor-General of Dazaifu, and advanced to Senior Third Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). After several years in post he fell into a dispute with the shrine servants of Usa; the shrine officials appealed to the court, and he was dismissed from the post of Daini (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku) and returned to the capital. When he moored off the coast of Iyo, the wind and waves were fierce and for several days he could not set out. One night the deity Mishima Myōjin appeared to him in a dream and asked him to write the plaque of the shrine. Sukemasa respectfully agreed. As soon as he awoke the wind fell and the waves grew calm, so he went ashore, purified himself with fasting, wrote the plaque, and departed. From this time his fame as a calligrapher rose ever higher in the world (Note: following the Ōkagami). Next he became Hyōbu-kyō, Minister of Military Affairs. He died at the age of fifty-five (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). His daughter married Kanehira; she too was skilled in calligraphy and had much of her father's manner (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Eiga Monogatari). Saneyori's younger brother was Morosuke (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Fujiwara-no-Morosuke

¶Fujiwara-no-Morosuke. From his youth Morosuke held one after another the Seiken (Note: prominent offices proper to the Seika houses), and between the Jōhei (931-938) and Tengyō (938-947) eras he rose through successive offices to Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). He took Imperial Princess Kinshi as his consort (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki). When Taira-no-Masakado rose in rebellion, Masakado was put to death before the Seitō-taishōgun, Great General for Subduing the East, Fujiwara-no-Tadafumi, had yet engaged in battle, and the court deliberated on rewards for merit. At that time Morosuke was seated with his elder brother Saneyori, and Saneyori argued: "Tadafumi in truth has no merit and should not be rewarded." Morosuke said: "That is not so. In doubtful cases of guilt one follows the lighter penalty, and in doubtful cases of reward one follows the greater. Since he has already received his orders and left the capital, he cannot be left unrewarded." Saneyori stubbornly refused to change his opinion, but the opinion of the time held Morosuke's words to be the insight of a more senior man (Note: following the Kojidan and the Jikkinshō; see also the Gempei Jōsuiki). He was transferred to Dainagon, Major Counsellor, concurrently became Ukonoe-no-taishō, Commander of the Right Palace Guards, and was granted Junior Second Rank. In the first year of Tenryaku (947) he was appointed Udaijin, Minister of the Right, and advanced to Senior Second Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). When Imperial Princess Kinshi died, he took Imperial Princess Gashi as consort. Before long the Princess too died. He then took Imperial Princess Yasuko as consort (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki). In the fourth year of Tentoku (960) Morosuke took to his sickbed. The emperor heard that he wished to shave his head and sent an envoy to visit him. Morosuke could not rise by himself and made known his long-held wish. The emperor admonished him again, saying: "Your illness is grave, but so long as you take good care of yourself, how could you fail in the end to recover? The Crown Prince is still young and has no one to guide him. How can you so calmly wish to shave your head at once?" Morosuke petitioned again and in the end shaved his head (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki). Soon afterward he died, at the age of fifty-three (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, the Fusō Ryakki, the Kugyō Bunin, and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He was known in the world as the Kujō-dono, or also as Bōjō (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He once compiled the Shinsen Nenjū Gyōji and the Jimokushō. His diary is called the Kyūreki (Note: following the Ninnaji Shoseki Mokuroku). He wrote one piece of last admonitions to instruct his descendants, and this was widely followed in the world (Note: following the Shūgaishō). Morosuke was magnanimous and mild and able to receive many people. Even those who had long failed to call on him were received, when they came, with the same manner as at the beginning. For this reason many of the retainers and guests of his father's time came back to him (Note: following the Eiga Monogatari). His sons were Koretada, Kanemichi, Kaneie, Takamitsu, Tamemitsu, and Kinsue (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Kaneie has a separate biography, and Takamitsu is in the Biographies of Recluses.

Fujiwara-no-Koretada

¶Fujiwara-no-Koretada. In the first year of Tenroku (970) Koretada was appointed Udaijin, Minister of the Right. When his uncle Saneyori died he succeeded him as Sesshō, Regent (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, the Kugyō Bunin, and the Eiga Monogatari), and became Chief of the Clan (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Several times he submitted memorials declining the regency, but this was not permitted (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In the second year (971) he was appointed Daijō-daijin, Chancellor, and advanced to Senior Second Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), and he was permitted to examine the appointment lists at his Jikiro, his private chamber in the palace (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In the third year (972) his illness became grave; he was granted eighty persons to be admitted to the Buddhist orders (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), and a general amnesty was issued in an effort to save him (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). He submitted a memorial asking leave to retire. The regency was suspended, but his other offices were left as they were. In the eleventh month he died, at the age of forty-nine. He was posthumously granted Senior First Rank, posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Mikawa, and given the posthumous name Kentoku (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). His fief households and attendants were kept as in his lifetime (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku), and he was called the Ichijō Sesshō, the Ichijō Regent (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). By nature he loved luxury. Once, on the day of a great banquet, he saw that the color of the wall of the main hall had darkened slightly, and had it at once re-papered with Michinoku paper. Morosuke had once left his descendants a testament of admonitions showing them frugality. Koretada was unable to keep to it, and the opinion of the time condemned this. Koretada excelled in talent and appearance and was skilled in waka (Note: following the Honchō Monzui). Emperor Murakami commanded five men, beginning with Ōnakatomi-no-Yoshinobu, to compile the Gosenshū (Note: following the Yakumo Mishō), and Koretada, having received an imperial decree in the sovereign's own hand, served as Bettō, Director, of the Waka-dokoro, the Office of Poetry (Note: following the Honchō Monzui). His sons were Chikakata, Korekata, Takakata, Yoshitaka, Yoshichika, Chikataka, and Mitsuaki, and his daughter was Kanshi. Chikakata and Korekata both served as Uhyōe-no-suke, Assistant Captain of the Right Gate Guards (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Takakata became Sakonoe-no-shōshō, Lesser Captain of the Left Palace Guards. Yoshitaka was Ukonoe-no-shōshō, Lesser Captain of the Right Palace Guards. The men of the time called Takakata the Former Shōshō and Yoshitaka the Later Shōshō. The brothers were both handsome, but the elder was somewhat inferior to the younger. For this reason the brothers did not get along (Note: following the Ōkagami). They were struck by smallpox at the same time and died one after the other between morning and evening. From his childhood Yoshitaka loved the Buddhist Way (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Eiga Monogatari) and went so far as to abstain from meat (Note: following the Ōkagami, the Ōjō Gokuraku-ki, and the Genkō Shakusho). Yoshichika has a separate biography. Chikataka and Mitsuaki both served as shōshō, Lesser Captains. Kanshi became a Nyōgo, Consort, of Emperor Reizei and bore Emperor Kazan (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Yoshitaka's son Yukinari has a separate biography.

Fujiwara-no-Kanemichi

¶Fujiwara-no-Kanemichi. In the ninth year of Tenkyō (946) Kanemichi was appointed Suō-no-gon-no-kami, Provisional Governor of Suō. At the end of Tenryaku (957) he was transferred to Sakonoe-no-shōshō, Lesser Captain of the Left Palace Guards (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the fourth year of Tentoku (960), as maternal uncle of the Crown Prince, he concurrently served as Tōgū-no-suke, Assistant Steward to the Crown Prince. In the fourth year of Kōhō (967) he was appointed Kurōdo-no-tō, Head Chamberlain. Having offended the emperor over some matter, he was removed from the post of Tōgū-no-suke, and his younger brother Kaneie took his place. When Emperor Reizei ascended the throne he was removed as Head Chamberlain, and Kaneie again took his place (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin; see also the Gukanshō). In the second year of Anna (969) he was appointed Sangi, Consultant. Next he was granted Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Kaneie was promoted rapidly, transferred to Dainagon, Major Counsellor, and concurrently became Ukonoe-no-taishō, Commander of the Right Palace Guards (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Gukanshō). Kanemichi was discontented at this and often failed to attend court. The emperor too treated him somewhat more coolly (Note: following the Ōkagami). In the third year of Tenroku (972) he was appointed Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Kanemichi desired the position of regent or Kampaku, but always feared that Kaneie would obstruct his advancement. Once, in the reign of Emperor Murakami, he had secretly gone to the Empress and had her write in her own hand: "Hereafter, whenever a vacancy arises in the regency or Kampaku, it must pass in order of seniority among the brothers." The Empress was Kanemichi's younger sister. Kanemichi kept the document in his bosom and would not part with it even for a moment. When his elder brother Koretada's illness became grave, Kanemichi saw that his life would not last long and meant to present the document when the opportunity arose. Just then the emperor appeared in the Oni-no-ma, the Demon Chamber, and Kanemichi came forward intending to present it. The emperor was cold to Kanemichi among all his maternal relatives, and seeing him approach, rose to go back inside. Kanemichi followed and said, "I have something I wish to submit to Your Majesty." The emperor returned to his seat. Then Kanemichi presented the document. The emperor, seeing his mother the Empress's handwriting, showed a look of grief. In the end, unable to disobey her dying command, he first granted Kanemichi the Nairan, the privilege of previewing documents (Note: following the Ōkagami; see also the Gukanshō). Raising him out of the rank of Chūnagon, he appointed him directly Naidaijin, Inner Minister (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin, the Ōkagami, and the Gukanshō). In the second year of Tenen (974) he became Chief of the Clan, was appointed Daijō-daijin, Chancellor, was granted Junior Second Rank, was permitted a hand-drawn carriage, and administered all affairs as Kampaku. He was granted two Uchitoneri, Palace Attendants, and four men each from the Left and Right Palace Guards as escorts. In the third year (975) he was granted Junior First Rank and permitted an ox-drawn carriage (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the first year of Jōgen (976) a fire broke out in the inner palace, and the emperor made a visit to Kanemichi's Horikawa mansion. The mansion was magnificent, so that it could be likened to the palace itself. The people of the time called it the "Imadairi," the New Palace (Note: following the Eiga Monogatari). In the spring of the second year (977) he fell ill and submitted a memorial asking to resign, but it was not permitted (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). Originally Kanemichi's eldest daughter Kōshi had become a Nyōgo, Consort, and was installed as Empress. Kaneie's eldest daughter Chōshi became a Nyōgo of the Retired Emperor Reizei, and Kaneie was further about to have his second daughter Senshi attend the emperor. Kanemichi said, "My daughter is already the Chūgū, the Empress; and now he means to advance yet another daughter of his own?" Because of this, the feud between the two grew ever deeper. Kaneie's Tōsanjō mansion adjoined Kanemichi's Horikawa mansion, and whenever a guest happened to call on Kaneie, Kanemichi would curse him behind his back. Guests feared this, and some waited until night to call. When Chōshi gave birth to Emperor Sanjō, Kanemichi became ever more resentful and said, "The Retired Emperor's consort has borne and raised a prince, the General (Kaneie) is helping her, and from now on he means to plan for still further advancement." He told the emperor, "Kaneie, bearing the Retired Emperor's prince on his shoulders, hopes for unexpected good fortune, and I fear it will do Your Majesty harm. He should be thrust aside before he acts." The Udaijin, Minister of the Right, Fujiwara-no-Yoritada, was close to Kanemichi, and Kanemichi wished to recommend Yoritada as his own successor; first he had Minamoto-no-Kaneakira resign as Sadaijin, Minister of the Left, and made him a prince again, and he had Yoritada appointed in his place (Note: following the Eiga Monogatari). In the winter Kanemichi's illness grew grave. Kaneie heard of it and, thinking he could not be saved, resolved to go to the palace and petition to succeed him in his post. He hurriedly dressed and set out, with outriders clearing the road, and had already come close to Kanemichi's mansion. Someone entered the mansion and announced, "Lord Tōsanjō is about to arrive." Kanemichi, thinking he had come to inquire after his illness, laid out a seat and waited. But Kaneie passed by the gate without entering and went straight to the palace to have an audience with the emperor. Kanemichi was furiously angry and rose abruptly. Supported by four men, he went to the palace despite his illness. Kaneie was just then making his request before the emperor, but seeing Kanemichi arrive he was startled and flustered and withdrew to another place. Kanemichi, with a terrible look on his face, said to the emperor, "Today I wish to hold my last appointments. The Sadaijin Yoritada is the man, and he should be made Kampaku." He then impeached Kaneie for his rash and contentious conduct, stripped him of the offices he currently held, and demoted him to Jibu-kyō, Minister of Civil Administration. The emperor could not oppose his wishes and accepted everything (Note: following the Ōkagami; see also the Gukanshō). Kanemichi looked around at the high ministers and called out, "Is there anyone who wishes to be General? If so, let him ask for it himself." Those in the room looked at one another, and no one dared to speak. The Chūnagon, Middle Counsellor, Fujiwara-no-Naritoki stepped forward and asked. Kanemichi granted it (Note: following the Gukanshō). After Kanemichi gave up the post of Kampaku, the emperor treated him with special generosity, granting him the authority to confer offices and ranks on others, and made him Jun-sangū, Honorary Equal of the Three Empresses (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Nihon Kiryaku). A general amnesty was proclaimed throughout the realm and stipends were granted to the aged in an effort to save his illness (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). He died at the age of fifty-three (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, the Kugyō Bunin, and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). By his last will he declined funeral rites and a posthumous rank. The court suspended the conduct of government for three days (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). He was posthumously granted Senior First Rank, posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Tōtōmi, and given the posthumous name Chūgi (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). His fief households and attendants were kept as in his lifetime (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku), and he was called the Horikawa-dono (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). His sons were Akimitsu, Tokimitsu, and Asamitsu (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Fujiwara-no-Akimitsu

¶Fujiwara-no-Akimitsu. Between the Ōwa (961-964) and Kannin (1017-1021) eras Akimitsu rose through successive offices to Junior First Rank and Sadaijin, Minister of the Left (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), and he died at the age of seventy-eight (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). He was called Horikawa or Hirohata (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Akimitsu's daughter Enshi entered the household of the Koichijō-no-miya and was deeply favored. Later, when the daughter of the Sadaijin Michinaga entered the household after her, Michinaga, relying on his own power, took away the favor she had enjoyed (Note: following the Eiga Monogatari and the Ōkagami). Enshi lost his favor and returned to her family home (Note: following the Eiga Monogatari). Akimitsu was bitter and resentful, and his hair turned white in a single night (Note: following the Jikkinshō). Enshi in the end died of grief (Note: following the Eiga Monogatari and the Ōkagami). Akimitsu had the monk Dōman lay a curse on Michinaga (Note: following the Jikkinshō); after his death he is said to have wrought vengeance as a spirit, and the people of the world called him the "Akuryō Safu," the Vengeful Minister of the Left (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Hōbutsushū).

¶Tokimitsu was Junior Second Rank and Chūnagon, Middle Counsellor, and was called Machijiri (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Fujiwara-no-Asamitsu

¶Fujiwara-no-Asamitsu. In the reign of Emperor En'yū Asamitsu received special favor (Note: following the Ōkagami) and, surpassing his elder brother Akimitsu, became Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor. He was transferred to Dainagon, Major Counsellor, and concurrently became Sakonoe-no-taishō, Commander of the Left Palace Guards (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Kugyō Bunin). In the first year of Chōtoku (995) he died (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He was called the Kan'in General (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Kugyō Bunin). Asamitsu was handsome in appearance (Note: following the Ōkagami), and once, on a whim, he wore a cap with the forehead open (Note: the Sukashibitai-no-kan, "openwork-forehead cap"), and later men followed his example (Note: following the Tōsai Zuihitsu). At first Asamitsu married a daughter of Prince Shigeakira, who was outstanding in appearance and bore him several children. At that time the wife of the Dainagon Minamoto-no-Nobumitsu had newly become a widow and was very rich in cosmetics and property. Asamitsu wished to obtain this, sought out some trifling fault of his own wife, cast her aside, and married this woman instead. She was older than Asamitsu, with wrinkles on her face, white hair, and a scar on her forehead. But she was truly zealous in pleasing her husband. She kept some thirty serving women, all of fine appearance, and had them splendidly dressed and lined up on the left and right. She always kept some twenty silver pots ready for brewing medicine, and brought it to him as required. On cold nights she spread a quilted cushion for him to sit on, and when he went to bed she had each of the women take a heated iron and warm it. Asamitsu doted on this wife, but it exposed him to the criticism of the world, and his reputation declined considerably (Note: following the Ōkagami). His son Asatsune rose to high rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Fujiwara-no-Tamemitsu

¶Fujiwara-no-Tamemitsu. In the Tenroku era (970-973) Tamemitsu rose through successive offices to Sangi, Consultant. Some years later he was granted Junior Third Rank and appointed Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor. In the third year of Jōgen (980) he was transferred to Dainagon, Major Counsellor. When Emperor Ichijō ascended the throne he was appointed Udaijin, Minister of the Right. In the first year of Eien (987) he was granted Junior First Rank. In the second year of Shōryaku (991) he was appointed Daijō-daijin, Chancellor (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku), and was permitted a hand-drawn carriage (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Ichidai Yōki). The next year he died, at the age of fifty-two. He was posthumously granted Senior First Rank, posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Sagami, and given the posthumous name Kōtoku (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin, the Nihon Kiryaku, and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). His fief households and attendants were kept as in his lifetime (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). He was called the Go-Ichijō Daijō-daijin, the Later Ichijō Chancellor (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Ichidai Yōki). Originally Tamemitsu's daughter Shishi became a Nyōgo, Consort, of Emperor Kazan and was deeply favored. While she was with child she fell ill and died in the eighth month (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Eiga Monogatari). Tamemitsu could not bear his grief and from that time devoted himself wholly to the Buddhist Way, constantly practicing in his daily life and living entirely like a monk; he founded the Hōjūji and lived there (Note: following the Eiga Monogatari). For this reason he was also called the Hōjūji Shōkoku, the Hōjūji Chancellor (Note: following the Ōkagami and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). His diary is called the Hōjūji Shōkokuki.

¶His eldest son Sanenobu, whose childhood name was Matsuo (Note: from "the eldest son" onward, following the Eiga Monogatari), was by nature fond of wine. His younger brother Tadanobu had an excellent reputation, and Sanenobu fell short of him in the esteem of the world (Note: following the Ōkagami). After Emperor Ichijō's accession Sanenobu gradually rose and became Sangi, Consultant. In the third year of Chōtoku (997) he was granted Junior Third Rank and concurrently served as Saemon-no-kami, Captain of the Left Gate Guards. In the Chōhō era (999-1004), when a vacancy arose among the Chūnagon, Middle Counsellors (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), Sanenobu hoped to be appointed to it and secretly said to Tadanobu, "This is the post I desire. Younger brother, do not desire it." Tadanobu agreed. The Sadaijin Michinaga had always valued Tadanobu's talent and secretly said to him, "Do you not wish to become Chūnagon? I will petition and have it granted to you." Tadanobu declined: "This is what my elder brother desires. I do not wish to get ahead of him." Michinaga said, "Your brother is not equal to it. If you do not desire it, this chance of promotion will in the end go to someone else." Tadanobu said, "I am only standing aside for my brother's sake. If someone else is to be appointed, how could I fail to accept?" Michinaga in the end made Tadanobu Chūnagon. Sanenobu felt that he had been deceived; from the day of the appointments he refused food and drink, clenched his fists, bowed his head and lifted it, raging and cursing, and said, "I have been obstructed by Tadanobu and Michinaga." After seven days of rage and torment he died. It is said that his nails had pierced through the backs of his hands (Note: following the Ōkagami). Tadanobu has a separate biography. Tadanobu's younger brother Michinobu was adopted out to his uncle Kaneie. Michinobu (Note: the original text writes this name as 通信) had a younger brother Kinnobu, who rose in office to Chūnagon (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Fujiwara-no-Kinsue

¶Fujiwara-no-Kinsue lost his father almost as soon as he was born. The Empress of Emperor Murakami was Kinsue's elder sister, and, pitying him for being orphaned at so young an age, took him into the palace and raised him. The emperor too regarded him with great favor; his clothing and food were made equal to those of an imperial prince, only the vessels he used were slightly lowered in rank. Never from ancient times had a subject been raised within the palace, and the men of the time regarded this as extraordinary (Note: following the Ōkagami). In the fourth year of Kōhō (967) he underwent his coming-of-age ceremony. On the same day he was granted Senior Fifth Rank Lower and rose through successive offices. In the Kanna era (985-987) he was appointed Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor. In the Chōtoku era (995-999) he was transferred to Dainagon, Major Counsellor, concurrently served as Michinoku-Dewa Azechi, Inspector of Mutsu and Dewa, and as Sakonoe-no-taishō, Commander of the Left Palace Guards (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), and was appointed Naidaijin, Inner Minister. In the first year of Kannin (1017) he was transferred to Udaijin, Minister of the Right (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin), was permitted to enter and leave the palace gates in a hand-drawn carriage, and concurrently served as Kōtaitei-no-fu, Tutor to the Crown Prince's Younger Brother. In the first year of Jian (1021) he was granted Junior First Rank, was appointed Daijō-daijin, Chancellor, and was permitted an ox-drawn carriage. Next he was granted eight escorts (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the second year of Chōgen (1029) he died, at the age of seventy-three. He was posthumously granted Senior First Rank (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, the Fusō Ryakki, and the Gukanshō), posthumously enfeoffed as Duke of Kai (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Sakeiki), and given the posthumous name Jingi (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, the Fusō Ryakki, the Sakeiki, and the Gukanshō). He became the founder of the Kan'in house (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). His son was Sanenari.

Fujiwara-no-Sanenari

¶Fujiwara-no-Sanenari rose through successive offices to Chūnagon, Middle Counsellor, and Dazai-no-gon-no-sotsu, Provisional Governor-General of Dazaifu (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the second year of Chōreki (1038) he was implicated in an incident and struck from the rolls (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki, the Hyakurenshō, the Ichidai Yōki, and the Kugyō Bunin). The next year he was restored to his former rank (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki; the Ichidai Yōki and the Kugyō Bunin both place it in the first year of Chōkyū [1040]). He was skilled at reading faces. The Umanokami, Director of the Right Bureau of Horses, Fujiwara-no-Akinobu, asked Sanenari for a marriage connection. Sanenari held that Akinobu had the look of one who would leave the world and would not permit it. Later he said to Akinobu's elder brother Yoshinobu, "Your younger brother will soon take religious vows. The signs of it have already appeared." When asked for his age, Akinobu answered, "Nineteen." Sanenari said, "The time will be this year." That year Akinobu suddenly abandoned office and became a monk (Note: following the Ōkagami). Sanenari died in the first year of Kantoku (1044), at the age of seventy (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). He was called in the world the Kan'in-no-sochi (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki). His son was Kinnari.

Fujiwara-no-Kinnari

¶Fujiwara-no-Kinnari had the childhood name Inu, "Dog" (Note: following the Ōkagami). He was handsome in appearance and composed in his bearing (Note: following the Eiga Monogatari). Kinsue adopted him as his son and cherished him exceptionally, always riding in the same carriage with him to court. Once, when Kinnari was late, Kinsue would not go ahead alone, but always waited until he arrived before going to court (Note: following the Ōkagami). He rose in office to Junior Second Rank and Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor. His son Saneyoshi was Senior Second Rank and Dainagon, Major Counsellor (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). He was styled in the world the Go-Kan'in, the Later Kan'in (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Because he was the maternal grandfather of Emperor Toba, he was posthumously granted the rank of Daijō-daijin and Senior First Rank (Note: following the Chōya Gunsai and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Fujiwara-no-Arihira

¶Fujiwara-no-Arihira was a grandson of the Chūnagon, Middle Counsellor, Yamakage, and a son of the monk Nyomu. His uncle Ariyori, Tajima-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Tajima, raised him and made him his heir (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku; Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku writes Tajima-no-suke as Tajima-no-kami, Governor, but the Kugyō Bunin is followed here). In the eighth year of Engi (908) he entered the Daigaku, the University, and was examined on the Wen xuan and the Fan shi (Fan Ye's History of the Later Han), but made errors and did not pass. In the twelfth year (912) he took the provincial examination and soon afterward became a Monjōshō, Student of Letters. In the seventeenth year (917) he received office and became Jō, Third-ranking Official, of Iyo and Bizen. The following year he passed the policy examination (Note: following the Chōya Gunsai) and became Shōnaiki-kurōdo, Lesser Secretary and Chamberlain. In the Enchō era (923-931) he was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower, appointed Gyōbu-no-shō, Junior Assistant Minister of Justice, and by special permission was allowed to enter the Imperial Presence. Next he became Daigaku-no-kami, Director of the University, and was appointed Shikibu-no-gon-no-shō, Provisional Junior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Chōya Gunsai). In the fourth year of Tengyō (941) he was appointed Sangi, Consultant. After Emperor Murakami's accession he was granted Junior Third Rank, appointed Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor, advanced to Senior Third Rank, and was transferred to Dainagon, Major Counsellor (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the fourth year of Tentoku (960) a fire broke out in the inner palace, and the halls were entirely burned. Arihira supervised the work of rebuilding (Note: following the Chōya Gunsai). The next year, in recognition of this merit, he was granted Junior Second Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the second year of Anna (969) he held a Shōshikai, a Gathering in Honor of the Aged, at his mountain villa at Awata (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, the Hyakurenshō, and the Fusō Ryakki). Those who assembled each took off their court dress and wore nōshi and sashinuki, informal robes and trousers (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). The world regarded it as a splendid occasion (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Hyakurenshō). The Chancellor Saneyori presented him with a screen painting of the Japanese and Chinese Gatherings in Honor of the Aged (Note: following the Honchō Monzui). When the Sadaijin, Minister of the Left, Minamoto-no-Takaakira, fell victim to slander and was demoted, Arihira heard of it and lamented his fate. When a retainer, delighted, said, "When a vacancy arises among the great ministers, you are next in line," Arihira was greatly angered and drove him away (Note: following the Zoku Kojidan). Soon afterward he succeeded Morotada as Udaijin, Minister of the Right (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). The next year he was transferred to Sadaijin, Minister of the Left. In the winter of this year he retired because of illness. Before long he died, at the age of seventy-nine (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Ichidai Yōki; Note: the Fusō Ryakki gives eighty, which is mistaken). He was posthumously granted Junior First Rank, was called the Awata Sadaijin, the Minister of the Left of Awata (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), and also Madenokōji (Note: following the Rekidai Kōki). In all his years in office Arihira never once missed attendance at court. One day, when wind and rain raged violently, the Kichijō, the gate guards of the Left Gate Guards, were saying to one another, "Even someone as diligent as Arihira will have trouble attending court on a day like this." Before they had finished speaking, someone arrived wearing a straw raincoat and hat, and it was Arihira. The men of the time marveled and praised him for it (Note: following the Kojidan and the Zoku Kojidan). Arihira would learn in advance the books the emperor was reading, and whenever he went to the palace he always carried that book in his carriage. When the emperor put a question to him, he could answer clearly. For this reason, though his talent and learning were not particularly superior to others', he was held in high regard (Note: following the Kojidan, the Zoku Kojidan, and the Jikkinshō; Note: the Jikkinshō and the Tōsai Zuihitsu both record that when Arihira was young he made a pilgrimage to Kurama-dera, met Bishamonten in a dream, and learned in advance his own lifespan and official rank, but as this is rather fantastic it is not adopted here). His son Kunimitsu was Jibu-kyō, Minister of Civil Administration. Kunimitsu's son Tadasuke began his career in the early years of Anna as a Monjō Tokugyōshō, Graduate in Letters, rose through successive ranks of office (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), and attained Senior Third Rank and Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).