Biographies LXXVII: Fujiwara-no-Saneyuki, Kinnori, Saneyoshi, Sanesada, Narimichi, Munenaga, and Masatsune

Fujiwara-no-Saneyuki

¶Fujiwara-no-Saneyuki was the second son of Fujiwara-no-Kinzane, Gon-dainagon, Provisional Major Counsellor (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin; the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Imakagami, however, make him the third son). In the third year of Eikyū (1115) he became Sangi, Consultant, and soon afterwards advanced to Junior Third Rank. In the third year of Hōan (1122) he became Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor, and successively held, concurrently, the posts of Saemon-no-kami, Commander of the Left Gate Guards, Uemon-no-kami, Commander of the Right Gate Guards, and Kebiishi-no-betto, Chief of the Police Commission. In the first year of Tenshō (1131) he became Gon-dainagon, and during the Kyūan years (1145-1151) he became Udaijin, Minister of the Right. He was then appointed Dajō-daijin, Chancellor, and at the Sechie banquets he was specially permitted to ascend to the hall directly, without proceeding in order of precedence. In the second year of Hōgen (1157) he retired from office, and soon afterwards shaved his head and took the name Renkaku. In the second year of Ōhō (1162) he died, at the age of eighty-three (Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku says eighty-four). He was called the Hachijō Dajō-daijin (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin) and also the Sanjō (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). His diary is called the Hachijō Shōkokuki. Saneyuki had a gift for learning and was versed in the etiquette of court ceremonial. By nature he was deeply filial; when a parent fell ill, he stayed at the bedside morning and evening to nurse them, without even taking off his clothes. While he was in mourning for his father, Fujiwara-no-Mototoshi came to offer condolences, and tied a waka to a plum tree, which read as follows.

¶(Poem, paraphrased: the poem asks the plum blossoms, at least, to speak with the poet in place of the master he used to see in this house.)

¶Saneyuki was deeply moved by this and composed a reply, as follows.

¶(Poem, paraphrased: if you long for the blossoms that have returned to their roots, take the shade beneath this tree as their keepsake.)

¶(Note: the above is following the Imakagami.) His sons were Kinnori, Kinyuki, and Kinmune (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Kinyuki became Sangi of Junior Third Rank and died in the fourth year of Kyūan (1148) (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Kinmune was Minbu-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs, of Senior Fifth Rank Lower (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Fujiwara-no-Kinnori

¶Fujiwara-no-Kinnori successively served as Jijū, Chamberlain, Sakon'e-no-shōshō and Ukon'e-no-shōshō, Lesser Captains of the Left and Right Palace Guards, and Chūjō, Middle Captain. In the second year of Hōen (1136) he was appointed Gon-chūnagon; in the Kyūan years he was granted Senior Second Rank and became Dainagon, Major Counsellor, concurrently serving as Sakon'e-no-taishō, Commander of the Left Palace Guards. In the second year of Hōgen (1157) he was appointed Naidaijin, Minister of the Interior (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the first year of Eiryaku (1160) he died (Note: following the Sankaiki and the Kugyō Bunin). Kinnori was gentle by nature, and though he devoted himself reverently to public duties, he was indifferent to advancement and profit and never grasped at them, so that the world judged him a worthy man (Note: following the Imakagami). Once, while he sat facing a guest, a pebble flew in and struck the lattice. The guest turned pale, but Kinnori looked around and asked, "Whose doing is this?" A member of the household answered, "The Shōshō of the neighboring house threw it." Kinnori laughed and said, "This is a dangerous place; we must not stay here," and led his guest to another seat. After a while another pebble came flying, but Kinnori went on talking and laughing with perfect composure and never showed any displeasure to the end. Such was the breadth of his character (Note: following the Jikkinshō). Once, when he was still a Shōshō, every evening he put on formal dress and attended the Retired Emperor Toba and Taikenmon-in, always at a fixed hour. For this reason the ladies of the palace called the time when the day grew dark "the Shōshō hour" (Note: following the Imakagami). His sons were Sanetsuna, Sanekuni, and Sanefusa. Sanetsuna became Gon-chūnagon of Senior Third Rank, and Sanekuni became Gon-dainagon of Senior Second Rank. Sanefusa held one important post after another and rose as far as Sadaijin, Minister of the Left, of Senior Second Rank. Saneyuki's younger brother was Saneyoshi (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

Fujiwara-no-Saneyoshi

¶Fujiwara-no-Saneyoshi rose step by step; in the Hōan years (1120-1124) he advanced to Junior Third Rank and was appointed Gon-chūnagon. Between Tenshō and Hōen (1131-1141) he concurrently served as Saemon-no-kami and Uemon-no-kami, was appointed Gon-dainagon, and also served as Ukon'e-no-taishō, Commander of the Right Palace Guards. In the sixth year of Kyūan (1150) he became Naidaijin, was transferred to Sakon'e-no-taishō, and soon afterwards concurrently became Tōgū-no-fu, Tutor to the Crown Prince (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the first year of Hōgen (1156), the Retired Emperor Toba fell ill. At this time the Retired Emperor Sutoku was planning to return to the throne, and people's hearts were in turmoil, those at court and those outside alike filled with fear. Saneyoshi secretly submitted a memorial to the Retired Emperor, saying: "Once Your Majesty has left your ministers behind and passed away, the realm will surely fall into disorder. I beg you to give deep thought to what will follow after ten thousand years." The Retired Emperor had himself long harbored the same suspicion and agreed deeply with these words. He therefore issued a command to ten commanders, took written oaths from them, and had them deposited with Bifukumon-in (Note: following the Gukanshō). Soon afterwards the Retired Emperor died, and, just as feared, the Retired Emperor Sutoku plotted to return to the throne. Saneyoshi further remonstrated with the Retired Emperor through Fujiwara-no-Norinaga, Sakyō-no-daibu, Master of the Eastern Capital Office, saying: "Even if the world draws near to its final age, the imperial throne in truth depends on the protection of the spirits of the ancestors and cannot be gained by human strength. Moreover, there is more than one precedent of a younger brother succeeding to the throne in place of an elder. I beg you to submit to the mandate of Heaven, ease your heart, and pass the years that remain to you. If the undertaking fails even once, regret will be of no avail." The Retired Emperor would not listen, and in the end suffered the disgrace of banishment (Note: following the Hōgen Monogatari). Saneyoshi was transferred to Sadaijin and advanced to Junior First Rank. In the second year of Hōgen (1157) he shaved his head (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). His Buddhist name was Shinri, and he died at the age of sixty-two (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He was known in the world as Tokudaiji (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku), and was also called Ōinomikado (Note: following the Imakagami). His sons were Kinyoshi, Kinchika, and Kinyasu (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

¶Kinchika loved learning from his childhood, and Fujiwara-no-Yorinaga praised his intelligence (Note: following the Taiki). He rose as far as Sangi of Senior Third Rank and died in the first year of Heiji (1159). Kinyasu became Gon-dainagon of Senior Second Rank and died in the second year of Angen (1176). Kinyoshi became Udaijin of Senior Second Rank and died in the first year of Ōhō (1161), at the age of forty-seven (Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku writes the seven as an eight, so there is also an account that he was forty-eight). He was called Ōinomikado. His sons were Sanesada, Saneie, and Sanemori (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

¶Saneie became Dainagon of Senior Second Rank and died in the fourth year of Kenkyū (1193) (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He was called Hachijō (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Sanemori became Gon-chūnagon of Junior Second Rank and died in the first year of Bunji (1185) (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Fujiwara-no-Sanesada

¶Fujiwara-no-Sanesada was intelligent by nature and possessed considerable learning (Note: following the Gyokukai and the Kokon Chomonjū). From early on he held one distinguished and important office after another. In the third year of Hōgen (1158) he was appointed Gon-chūnagon (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the second year of Ōhō (1162), when the emperor made a progress to the Hie Shrine, Fujiwara-no-Sanenaga, in recognition of his service in managing the event, was raised to Junior Second Rank over Sanesada's head. Sanesada took this ill, and petitioned afresh for the reward owed for the earlier imperial visit to the residence of his father Kinyoshi; as a result he too was granted Junior Second Rank, but his seat was placed below that of Sanenaga. In the second year of Chōkan (1164) he was appointed Gon-dainagon together with Sanenaga, but Sanesada was still dissatisfied and in the end resigned as Dainagon, and by being granted Senior Second Rank he surpassed Sanenaga (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Kokon Chomonjū). Before this there had been no precedent of a kugyō, a court noble, resigning his office in order to advance in rank (Note: following the Kokon Chomonjū). At the beginning of the Nin'an years (1166) he was appointed Kōgōgū-no-daibu, Master of the Empress's Household, but he resigned this in the second year of Kaō (1170) (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). For many years afterwards he shut himself up at home, melancholy and disappointed in his ambitions, but he consoled himself by composing poems and songs, of which many were excellent, and they were widely transmitted and praised in the world (Note: following the Kokon Chomonjū). In the first year of Jishō (1177) he was again appointed Dainagon, and soon afterwards concurrently became Sakon'e-no-taishō.

¶(Note: according to the Genpei Jōsuiki, in the first year of Jōan (1171), when the post of Left General fell vacant, Sanesada, held in esteem by the world both for his house and for his talents, and moreover first among the Dainagon, thought that he would surely be chosen. But the Right General Taira-no-Shigemori was transferred to it, and his younger brother, the Chūnagon Munemori, was appointed Right General. Sanesada then withdrew to the mountains and woods and sent a waka to Fujiwara-no-Akinaga, the words of which were sorrowful. Akinaga sent a poem in reply, consoling and counselling him. For several years Sanesada lingered in obscurity, gloomy and joyless, and came to harbor the wish to leave the world. He summoned his retainer Satō-no-Chikamune and secretly told him what was in his heart; Chikamune remonstrated with him strongly and dissuaded him, and urged him to make a pilgrimage to the Itsukushima Myōjin in Aki province and pray that he might obtain the post of General. Sanesada followed this advice. Jōkai had always revered the Itsukushima deity deeply, and when he heard that Sanesada had gone in person to pray there, he was distressed and said, "The post of Commander of the Palace Guards is one that this house has held generation after generation. That I passed over this man and recommended Munemori was my own fault." He therefore had Munemori resign as Right General, demoted Shigemori to that post, and recommended Sanesada to hold the office of Left General concurrently. Examining Sanesada's career, the Kokon Chomonjū agrees with the Kugyō Bunin, and is quite sufficient as a basis. The account in the Genpei Jōsuiki is mistaken and is a forced invention. The story of Sanesada exchanging waka with Akinaga appears in the Kokin Wakashū, but Akinaga died in the second year of Nin'an (1167), so on this point as well its error is clear. This account is therefore not adopted.)

¶In the second year of Juei (1183) he became Naidaijin, the General's post remaining as before (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka rose in rebellion and wished to make Fujiwara-no-Moroie, Gon-dainagon, his wife's elder brother, Sesshō, Regent; but as there was no vacancy among the ministerial offices, he borrowed the office of Naidaijin from Sanesada and appointed Moroie to it, so that Sanesada's tenure as Naidaijin was for a time suspended (Note: compiled with reference to the Gyokukai, the Gukanshō, the Kugyō Bunin, and the Genpei Jōsuiki). When Yoshinaka was put to death, Sanesada was again appointed Naidaijin. During the Bunji years (1185-1190) he was appointed Udaijin and soon afterwards transferred to Sadaijin. In the first year of Kenkyū (1190) he resigned his office and recommended his son Kintsugu, Sakon'e-no-chūjō, Middle Captain of the Left Palace Guards, for Sangi. In the following year he shaved his head and took the name Nyoen, and in that same year he died, at the age of fifty-three. He was called Go-Tokudaiji (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

¶When Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune petitioned the court for an edict to pursue his elder brother Yoritomo, the matter was referred to a conference of the Sankō, the three highest ministers. Sanesada did not at once declare for or against it, and Yoritomo was grateful to him for this. When Yoritomo selected the court nobles he recommended, Sanesada was among them, and when Sanesada died Yoritomo deeply mourned him (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Sanesada's house held many books, Japanese and Chinese together amounting to more than ten thousand volumes. The diary of the Hanazono Sadaijin, some eighty volumes, and the diary of Shijō Kohō, more than a hundred volumes, were both without equal in the world (Note: following the Gyokukai). Above all things Sanesada loved waka; he set aside a room where he constantly invited poets and amused himself by chanting verse. His sons were Kinmori and Kintsugu (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Kinmori was Ukon'e-no-chūjō, Middle Captain of the Right Palace Guards (Note: following the Gyokukai). Kintsugu has a separate biography.

Fujiwara-no-Narimichi

¶Fujiwara-no-Narimichi was a grandson of Toshiie, Udaijin, and the fourth son of Munemichi, Gon-dainagon (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). When he was nine years old he came down with malaria, and a certain Sōzu, Bishop, was asked to offer prayers, but without effect. Munemichi wished to summon another monk and have prayers offered anew, but Narimichi said: "I have heard that even before I was in my mother's womb that Sōzu had already made his name as a worker of spiritual miracles. I have grown safely to the age of nine; who can say that his prayers were without effect? To suddenly have another monk pray because I have caught this illness, and even if I were cured through his power, that is not what I desire. Moreover it is not certain that it would be effective. And my illness is not one that will cost me my life, so I beg that my father not be anxious." Munemichi was astonished and impressed to hear this (Note: following Kamo-no-Chōmei's Hosshinshū). Between Eikyū and Tenshō (1113-1132) he served successively as Ukon'e-no-shōshō and Chūjō and was appointed Sangi. In the third year of Chōshō (1134) he advanced to Junior Third Rank, was appointed Gon-chūnagon, and concurrently held the post of Jijū. In the second year of Kōji (1143) he was granted Senior Second Rank, and in the fifth year of Kyūan (1149) he was transferred to Gon-dainagon. In the first year of Heiji (1159) he shaved his head and took the name Seiren, and he died at the age of sixty-three (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

¶Narimichi was handsome in appearance, and in his carriages and clothing he devised, according to the occasion, designs that caught the eye. By nature he loved to praise the good qualities of others, and when he came upon something worthy of admiration he would invariably shed tears. He was a man of extraordinary vigor and was versed in many arts. He was skilled at poetry and excelled at waka as well. When the Emperor Sutoku once had his ministers present waka, the poem in which Narimichi gave expression to his feelings was the one most admired and praised. He was also superb at handling horses; once, when he attended an imperial progress to Shirakawa, his horse stumbled in the middle of a river, but he at once stood up on the saddle and did not wet even the hem of his clothes (Note: following the Imakagami).

¶Above all he loved kemari, the court football game, and practiced it without ever tiring. When ill he kicked the ball lying in bed, and on rainy days he slipped into the Daigokuden and practiced there in secret, until at last he reached the inner mysteries of the art. Once he had some ten attendants sit in a row and walked along their shoulders while kicking the ball. Among them was a monk, whose head Narimichi stepped on as he passed. Everyone said, "The touch of his shoe against the body is as light as a hawk perching on the arm," and the monk himself said, "It felt as though only a hat were resting on my head" (Note: following the Kikufu).

¶One day, as he was kicking the ball in the garden, the ball went by mistake into the room behind the blinds, and Narimichi leapt after it. Munemichi happened to be sitting there, and Narimichi, fearing to tread on his seat, caught the ball on the top of Munemichi's foot, turned his body, and went out (Note: following the Kokon Chomonjū).

¶Again, when he made a pilgrimage to Kiyomizudera, he kicked the ball on the railing, still wearing shoes on his feet, so that all the onlookers were astonished and dumbfounded. Narimichi once said of himself: "When I see someone enter the kemari court, I can tell not only whether his skill is good or bad, but I can even see his fate, and I have never once been mistaken." He also said: "I have continued kemari for seven thousand days, concentrating my mind until I have come to communicate with the gods, and I myself believe that my wondrous skill has no equal past or present. Just as the poets of the world revere and enshrine Kakinomoto-no-Hitomaro, so too the lovers of kemari in later ages will be unable to refrain from enshrining me." (Note: following the Kikufu.) In later times, when kemari became widely practiced, a shrine enshrining the deity of kemari was built at Narimichi's old residence at Nishinotōin. This is said to have been based on these words of Narimichi (Note: compiled with reference to the Shoshin Kongenshō, the Kumoi no Haru, and others).

¶(Note: the Kikufu contains the following story. I had continued kemari for seven thousand days. When I reached the first thousand days, I placed the ball on a shelf and observed a period of abstention, and we drank wine together and made great merry. After the guests had left, as I sat alone beneath the lamp, three children with human faces and monkeys' bodies suddenly appeared, together carrying a single ball, and said, "We are the gods of kemari." On the forehead of each was a golden inscription; one read "Spring Willow Blossom," one read "Summer Peaceful Grove," and one read "Autumn Garden." They said: "If a king or lord loves kemari, his country will be rich and he himself will gain long life. Most of what troubles people becomes a hindrance of sin, but one who loves kemari, once he enters the court, has no other stray thoughts, and this is itself merit. Apply yourself all the more." When they had said this they vanished from sight. This story verges on the marvelous and is hard to believe, so it is not adopted.)

¶Narimichi's Kikufu, one volume, has been transmitted in the world (Note: following the Kikufu). Narimichi was extraordinarily light in his movements, and could run along the side of a wall, roll about on a roof, or suddenly stand at the edge of the eaves. Munemichi repeatedly warned him to restrain such frivolous behavior, and the Emperor Toba too cautioned him about it, but Narimichi did not change (Note: following the Kokon Chomonjū). Narimichi had no son of his own, so he adopted Yasumichi, son of his nephew Tamemichi, as his heir. Yasumichi served successively as Sangi and Chūnagon between Juei and Kenkyū (1182-1199), and in the Shōji years (1199-1201) rose as far as Gon-dainagon of Senior Second Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). He also adopted Aritsune, son of Minamoto-no-Yukimune, and made him Shimōsa-no-kami, Governor of Shimōsa (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Fujiwara-no-Munenaga

¶Fujiwara-no-Munenaga was a great-grandson of Tadanori, Dainagon. His grandfather Yorisuke took him in and raised him as a son. Yorisuke served as Bungo-no-kami, Governor of Bungo, and Dazai-no-shōni, Junior Vice-Governor of Dazaifu, and rose as far as Gyōbu-kyō, Minister of Justice, of Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku; that he was adopted follows the Kugyō Bunin). His father Yoritsune was implicated in having had dealings with Minamoto-no-Yukiie and Yoshitsune, and in the fifth year of Bunji (1189) was banished to Izu (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). At that time Munenaga was Ukon'e-no-shōshō, and, implicated in the same way, was dismissed from office; later he rose as far as Gyōbu-kyō of Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Azuma Kagami; the Azuma Kagami says Sakon'e, but here the Kugyō Bunin is followed).

¶Originally Yorisuke had studied kemari under Fujiwara-no-Narimichi and gradually gained a reputation. Munenaga inherited his skill, and after years of practice at last reached the height of its wonders. Together with his younger brother Masatsune he was ranked as one of its outstanding disciples. The Retired Emperor Go-Toba loved kemari and took Munenaga as his teacher. The Retired Emperor's own kemari was also very skilled, and Munenaga, together with Masatsune and Fujiwara-no-Yasumichi and others, submitted a memorial acclaiming him as "Shūkiku Chōja," Master of Kemari (Note: following the Kumoi no Haru; "Mari-shi," Kemari Teacher, follows the Sonpi Bunmyaku). When the Retired Emperor visited the residence of Fujiwara-no-Yoritoki, the former Dajō-daijin, a kemari game was held and a banquet was granted (Note: following the Meigetsuki and the Jōgen Gokikuki). That eight men each were ranged in the upper, middle, and lower seats of the garden, and that they were permitted to use forbidden colors for the cords of their caps and for their stockings, began from this occasion (Note: following the Kumoi no Haru).

¶His sons were Munenori and Sukenaga. Munenori became Gyōbu-kyō, and the Emperor Tsuchimikado took Munenori as his teacher in kemari. Munenori had two sons, named Noritsugu and Noritoshi. Noritsugu was appointed Sakon'e-no-shōshō and was granted Senior Fourth Rank Lower. Noritoshi became Jijū (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Munenaga's younger brother was Masatsune.

Fujiwara-no-Masatsune

¶Fujiwara-no-Masatsune became Jijū in the Kenkyū years (1190-1199). Between Kennin and Ken'ei (1201-1207) he concurrently served as Echizen-no-suke and Kaga-no-gon-no-suke, Assistant Governors of Echizen and (provisional) of Kaga, and was appointed Sakon'e-no-shōshō (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Because of his excellence at waka he served at the Wakadokoro, the Poetry Office (Note: following the Gotoba-in Kuden and the Meigetsuki), and by imperial command, together with Minamoto-no-Michitomo, Fujiwara-no-Sadaie, and others, he compiled the Shin Kokin Wakashū (Note: following the preface of that work). During the Jōgen years (1207-1211) he was transferred to Sakon'e-no-chūjō. In the sixth year of Kenpō (1218) he advanced to Junior Third Rank. In the second year of Jōkyū (1220) he was appointed Sangi, and in the following year he died, at the age of fifty-two (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

¶Masatsune once studied waka under Fujiwara-no-Sadaie, but by the time of his descendants their style of poetry was hardly different from that of the Nijō house (Note: following the Shōtetsu Monogatari). He also loved kemari, and he and his elder brother were both called the foremost of their age. Munenaga took the name Namba and Masatsune took the name Asukai, and their descendants made these their house names. Later the Namba house gradually declined, and only the Asukai house was honored in the world for both waka and kemari (Note: following the Kumoi no Haru.

¶Note: the Kokon Chomonjū has the following story. When Masatsune was young he was lodging in the fishing pavilion of Kazan-in, and every day he went to worship at the Kamo Shrine. Once he composed a waka.

¶(Poem, paraphrased: the poet, of no account in the world, goes along weeping like a plover with no companion, on the riverbank of the Kamo.)

¶One night the deity appeared in a dream to a shrine official and said: "I pity the one who composed that poem about going along weeping. You must search out that person." The shrine official searched far and wide, found Masatsune, and told him of the dream. Masatsune was deeply moved, and from this time on, it is said, his office and rank gradually advanced.)

¶His son was Norisada, who rose as far as Uhyōe-no-kami of Senior Third Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).