Imperial Princes IV

[Emperor Kanmu] Thirteen Sons

¶Emperor Kanmu had sixteen sons. His Empress, of the Fujiwara clan, bore Emperor Heizei and Emperor Saga, and the posthumous Empress Dowager bore Emperor Junna (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). The consort Fujiwara-no-Kisshi bore Imperial Prince Iyo (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). Tajihi-no-Mamune bore Imperial Prince Kuzuwara (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku and the Nihon Kiryaku), Imperial Prince Sami, Imperial Prince Kaya, and Imperial Prince Daitoku (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku, the Ichidai Yōki, and the Teiō Hennenki). Fujiwara-no-Okuso bore Imperial Prince Manda (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Teiō Hennenki). The court lady Fujiwara-no-Kawako bore Imperial Prince Nakano (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku); Ki-no-Wakako bore Imperial Prince Asuka (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki); Sakanoue-no-Haruko bore Imperial Prince Fujii (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku); Kudara-no-Kyōjin bore Imperial Prince Ōta (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku, the Ichidai Yōki, and the Teiō Hennenki); and Kawakami-no-Yoshi bore Imperial Prince Sakamoto (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki). The maidservant Tajihi-no-Toyotsugu bore Nagaoka-no-Okanari (Note: following the Shōjiroku), and Kudara-no-Eikei bore Yoshimine-no-Yasuyo (Note: following the Shōjiroku and the Kugyō Bunin).

Imperial Prince Iyo

¶In the fifteenth year of Enryaku (796), Imperial Prince Iyo was permitted to wear a sword at court (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). Soon afterwards he was granted Fourth Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Montoku Jitsuroku), advanced to Third Rank, and served in turn as Shikibu-kyō, Minister of Ceremonial, and Nakatsukasa-kyō, Minister of Central Affairs (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). Iyo excelled at the strings and winds (Note: following the Mizukagami), and the emperor favored him above all others. Once, on an autumn moonlit night, the emperor stopped at the prince's mountain villa in the course of a hunt, and wine was set out for a banquet. When night fell the emperor wished to hear a stag call and composed a poem to that effect, and by chance a stag did call. The emperor was delighted, had his ministers compose poems on the occasion, and afterwards visited the villa many times (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). In the tenth month of the second year of Daidō (807), Fujiwara-no-Munenari urged Iyo to rebel and tried to draw him secretly into an unlawful scheme. Iyo refused and would not comply, yet he did not report the matter to the court. Iyo's maternal uncle Fujiwara-no-Otomo, Dainagon, Major Counsellor, told it to Fujiwara-no-Uchimaro, Minister of the Right. Iyo, fearing the power of others, hastily submitted a memorial explaining how Munenari had urged him to revolt. Munenari was at once confined in the Left Headquarters of the Guards and interrogated. He confessed and stated, "The one who led the plot of rebellion was the Imperial Prince" (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). Abe-no-Eo, Chūjō of the Left Palace Guards, strongly maintained Iyo's innocence, but the emperor would not listen (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Eo and Kose-no-Notari, Commander of the Left Gate Guards, and others were sent with troops to surround the prince's residence. In the eleventh month an edict stripped him of the title of Imperial Prince, and he was moved, together with his mother, the consort Fujiwara-no-Kisshi, to the Kawaradera temple, where they were confined in a single room and their food and drink were cut off (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). Otomo, Munenari, and their partisans were exiled or punished (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin; the matter of Munenari follows the Nihon Kiryaku). Iyo and his consort took poison and died, and the people of the time pitied them (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Mizukagami). In the first year of Kōnin (810), when Emperor Saga fell ill, ten monks were ordained for Iyo and twenty for the Lady Fujiwara in order to ward off their vengeful spirits (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). In the tenth year (819), an edict restored his title of Imperial Prince (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). When Emperor Junna ascended the throne, he ordered the monks Kūkai, Taiei, and others to lecture on the Buddhist sutras at the Tachibanadera temple, and donated fields and the implements of a place of practice so that they might pray for the prince's repose in the afterlife (Note: following the Seireishū). In the ninth month of the sixth year of Jōwa (839), Emperor Ninmyō sent an imperial messenger to the tomb to proclaim an edict, which said: "The Imperial Prince Iyo, posthumously of Second Rank (Note: the year and month in which he was posthumously granted Second Rank are missing, and there is now no means of determining them), left the world early and has long lain beneath the Yellow Springs. We lament that blessing and good fortune did not come to fruition, and grieve that fortune and misfortune cannot be foreseen. Although an earlier edict has already conferred honors on him posthumously, we wish to add further adornment in this very year. Let a glorious rank be bestowed, and the hidden palace of the tomb be embellished. Let First Rank be granted" (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki). In the fifth year of Jōgan (863), when a Goryō-e, a rite to appease vengeful spirits, was held at the Shinsen-en garden, Iyo and his consort were among the spirits so honored (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku).

¶His sons were Prince Tsugueda and Prince Takaeda (Note: the Montoku Jitsuroku states that when the prince met his fate in the early years of Daidō, three sons were sentenced to distant exile, so Iyo's sons should not have been limited to these two; there is now no means of determining the rest. Nor is the order of their ages clear. The Montoku Jitsuroku and the Kugyō Bunin both say that Prince Takaeda was Iyo's second son, and the Shoku Nihon Kōki also says that Tsugueda was his first. Examining the Ruijū Kokushi, Tsugueda received rank in the fourteenth year of Kōnin (823) and Takaeda in the third year of Tenchō (826), three years after Tsugueda. For the present, on this basis, Tsugueda is placed above Takaeda). Tsugueda attained Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). Takaeda was sent into distant exile together with his brothers when his father incurred guilt, and wandering in poverty they had no means of making a living. When Emperor Saga ascended the throne, he took pity on the father's innocence, pardoned the sons and summoned them back to the capital, and returned in full the father's confiscated property, fields, and residences. Takaeda then conferred with his brothers and divided everything equally among them, without distinction of men and women, and the people of the time praised him for it. In the third year of Tenchō (826) he was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower and became Governor of Inaba, and by successive promotions rose to Kunai-kyō, Minister of the Imperial Household, and to Junior Third Rank. Takaeda was by nature generous and learned in writings. He studied calligraphy under the monk Kūkai and the zither under Makuma. His household had never accumulated wealth, and on his death he left instructions that his funeral be simple (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku).

Imperial Prince Kuzuwara

¶Imperial Prince Kuzuwara was intelligent from childhood. When grown he was modest and frugal and never behaved arrogantly toward others. He read widely in histories and biographies, and always took the successes and failures of past and present as a mirror to admonish himself (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). In the seventeenth year of Enryaku (798), he received the cap of manhood in the palace together with Emperor Junna (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In the twenty-second year (803), he was granted Fourth Rank and appointed Jibu-kyō, Minister of Civil Administration. In the first year of Daidō (806) he was transferred to Ōkura-kyō, Minister of the Treasury. In the third year (808) he became Danjō-no-in, Director of the Board of Censors. In the fourth year (809) he advanced to Third Rank. In the first year of Kōnin (810) he became Shikibu-kyō, Minister of Ceremonial. In the third year (812) he concurrently served as Dazai-no-sotsu, Governor-General of Dazaifu. In the seventh year (816) he was granted Second Rank (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). In the fourteenth year (823) he was appointed Nakatsukasa-kyō, Minister of Central Affairs, and again served as Director of the Board of Censors. In the second year of Tenchō (825) he submitted a memorial requesting that the royal titles of all his sons and daughters be abolished and the surname Taira-no-Ason be bestowed on them, but this was not granted. When he petitioned again, it was finally permitted (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In the seventh year (830) he concurrently became Hitachi-no-taishu, Titular Governor of Hitachi, and again served as Minister of Ceremonial. In the eighth year (831) he advanced to First Rank (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). In the second year of Jōwa (835) he was granted five hundred chō of unused open land at Maaino in Koma district, Kai province (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki). In the fifth year (838) he concurrently became Kōzuke-no-taishu, Titular Governor of Kōzuke (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki and the Montoku Jitsuroku). In the tenth year (843), citing old age and illness, he submitted a memorial asking to resign, but it was not granted (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki). In the eleventh year (844) he again concurrently served as Governor of Hitachi. In the third year of Kashō (850) he again became Governor-General of Dazaifu. In the sixth month of the third year of Ninju (853) he died, at the age of sixty-eight. He left instructions that his funeral be simple and declined official supervision of the funeral rites. Kuzuwara had long served in the Ministry of Ceremonial and was thoroughly versed in its duties, and there was nothing in the old ceremonial rules that he did not understand. The whole court held him in high regard; by imperial decree he was permitted to enter and leave the palace in a hand-drawn carriage, and he was treated with special favor above the other imperial princes (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). His son Taira-no-Takamune has a separate biography. Next was Yoshimune, of Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). Next was Prince Takami. Takami's son was called Prince Takamochi; in the first year of Kanpyō (889) he was granted the surname Taira-no-Ason and became Governor of Kazusa (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Genpei Jōsuiki. That it was the first year of Kangen is according to the Jōsuiki; the Nagato-bon version of the Heike Monogatari gives the second year in place of the first).

Imperial Prince Manda

¶Imperial Prince Manda (Note: according to the Nihon Kiryaku, Manda was originally named Manda, written with the characters for Ibarada, and in the twenty-third year of Enryaku (804) he changed to his present characters. But according to the Wamyō Ruijushō, the entry for Ibaradagun, Kawachi province, is glossed "Mamuta." Since Manda and Ibarada have the same readings, it was probably only the characters that were changed, not the name) was granted one hundred chō of rice fields and eight hundred chō of mountain land in Suō province in the fourteenth year of Enryaku (795) (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). During the Daidō era (806-810) he was granted Fourth Rank and became Minister of Central Affairs (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). In the sixth year of Kōnin (815), earlier than this, Emperor Saga, troubled that the clans of the realm were jumbled together and the distinctions of noble and humble confused, had commanded Fujiwara-no-Sonohito, Minister of the Right, and Fujiwara-no-Otsugu, Sangi, Counsellor, and others to sort them out. Because Manda was especially skilled in the study of genealogies, he was ordered to carry out the examination. Now the work was completed: it comprised some 1,182 clans (Note: the Ichidai Yōki gives 1,108 clans), thirty-one volumes in all, was entitled the Shinsen Shōjiroku, and was presented to the throne with a memorial (Note: following the preface to the Shinsen Shōjiroku. The Nihon Kiryaku and the Ichidai Yōki place this in the fifth year). In the eighth year (817) he was granted Third Rank (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). In the tenth year (819), together with Otsugu and others, he requested permission to revise the earlier work on the basis of old records, and this was granted. When Emperor Junna ascended the throne, he became Minister of Ceremonial. In the fifth year of Tenchō (828) he concurrently became Governor-General of Dazaifu. In the fourth month of the seventh year (830) he advanced to Second Rank. In the same month he died, at the age of forty-three. An edict posthumously granted him First Rank (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶His sons were Prince Masami, Prince Masayuki, and Prince Okaze (Note: according to the Montoku Jitsuroku, Masayuki was the second son and Okaze the fourth. The Kugyō Bunin makes Masami the seventh son. As to the other sons, there is no means of determining). Masami has a separate biography. Masayuki studied at the Daigaku, the university, together with his elder brother Masami, was by nature fond of letters, loved wine, and also enjoyed falconry and horsemanship. When Emperor Saga abdicated, by edict he served at the Saga-in, the retirement residence. In the tenth year of Tenchō (833) he was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower and became Jijū, Chamberlain. Emperor Ninmyō favored him especially. During the Jōwa era (834-848) he concurrently served as Governor of Etchū, was transferred to Sama-no-kami, Head of the Left Stables, was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper, and was transferred to Sakyō-daibu, Governor of the Left Capital. Between the Ninju and Tenan eras (851-859) he was appointed Governor of Kaga, became Danjō-no-daihitsu, Senior Assistant Director of the Board of Censors, concurrently served as Provisional Governor of Mimasaka, and rose to Senior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). His sons were Prince Takafumi, Prince Takai, and Prince Takahira, all of whom were granted the surname Taira-no-Ason (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku). Okaze was by nature steady, intelligent, and generous, and calm and elegant in his bearing. He entered the Daigaku while young and, when Emperor Montoku was still Crown Prince, was summoned to serve at his side, and was fond of falconry and horsemanship. On the day of Emperor Montoku's accession he was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower and appointed Head of the Left Stables, and continuing to serve within the palace he was favored all the more closely. During the Saikō era (854-857) he died in office, and the emperor greatly mourned him (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). His sons were Prince Sadasuke and Prince Arisuke, both of whom were granted the surname Taira-no-Ason (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku).

Imperial Prince Kaya

¶During the Kōnin era (810-824), Imperial Prince Kaya was granted Fourth Rank and became Gyōbu-kyō, Minister of Justice. When Emperor Junna ascended the throne, he was transferred to Minister of Civil Administration. During the Tenchō era (824-834) he became Minister of Central Affairs (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku) and was granted Third Rank. In the seventh year of Jōwa (840) he became Governor-General of Dazaifu, and soon again served as Minister of Civil Administration. In the third year of Kashō (850) he was transferred to Director of the Board of Censors. During the Saikō era he was granted Second Rank. In the second year of Tenan (858), by imperial decree he was permitted to wear a sword at court (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). In the early years of Jōgan he concurrently became Governor of Hitachi and again served as Minister of Civil Administration, retaining the governorship of Hitachi as before. When an imperial decree ordered that a Musha Daie, a great assembly open to all, be held at the Tōdaiji to make offerings to the Great Buddha, Kaya was sent to oversee it. In the fifth year (863) he submitted a memorial asking to retire, but a gracious edict was issued and it was not granted. In the ninth year (867) he became Governor of Kōzuke, retaining the Ministry of Civil Administration as before. In the thirteenth year (871) he became Governor-General of Dazaifu and submitted a memorial asking to be relieved as Minister of Civil Administration. In the tenth month he died (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku). He was seventy-eight (Note: following the Teiō Hennenki). Kaya excelled at ingenious devices and was skilled at making things. He once founded the Kyōgokuji temple in the capital. It happened that a great drought struck, the waters of the Kamo River dried up, and the temple's fields were on the point of drying out as well. Kaya carved a wooden figure of a boy, about four shaku long, had him hold a vessel in both hands, and fitted a mechanism in him; when it was set in the field and the vessel was filled with water, the water would pour over the boy's face. People vied with one another to pour water into it, and so the temple's fields did not wither (Note: following the Konjaku Monogatari).

¶His sons were Prince Michino, Prince Toshimoto, and Prince Tadasada (Note: the Montoku Jitsuroku and the Sandai Jitsuroku both record Prince Michino as the first son. The Sandai Jitsuroku records Prince Toshimoto as the sixth son. But the place of Prince Tadasada is not recorded. From this, the prince's sons should not have been limited to these three. Moreover, according to the Sandai Jitsuroku, in the fifteenth year of Jōgan (873) Prince Yukimi and Prince Tokimi, men of the Left Capital, were granted the surname Taira-no-Ason and are said to be descendants of Imperial Prince Kaya. But since their fathers and grandfathers are not recorded, there is now no means of determining this). Michino was appointed Governor of Musashi in the third year of Jōwa (836). During the Ninju era (851-854) he was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper. Michino loved wine and women and was fond of music, yet he was modest by nature and had never once been arrogant toward others (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). Toshimoto entered the Daigaku from his boyhood and was widely versed in the Shiji and the Hanshu. At the end of the Jōwa era he was recommended as a Monjōshō, a student of letters. In the third year of Kashō (850) he was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower. During the Jōgan era (859-877) he became Jijū, Chamberlain, was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper, and served successively as Provisional Governor of Shimotsuke. His son Prince Kiyoyuki was granted the surname Taira-no-Ason during the Gangyō era (877-885) (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku).

Prince Tadasada

¶In the second year of Tenan (858), Prince Tadasada was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku and the Kugyō Bunin). During the Jōgan era he became Daigaku-no-kami, Head of the Bureau of Education, was transferred to Nakatsukasa-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs, and served in turn as Danjō-no-daihitsu and as governor of Settsu, Kawachi, Yamato, Harima, and other provinces. In the third year of Gangyō (879) he was appointed Sangi, Counsellor (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), supervised the allotment of rice fields in Yamato province, and by successive promotions concurrently served as Minister of the Imperial Household and Minister of Justice and as governor of Mino and Ōmi, and died in office (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku). Tadasada was extremely ugly in appearance, but his ambitions were lofty and far-reaching. He devoted himself to study from a young age and had a general command of the Five Classics; when he went out to the provinces and served as governor of various lands he combined dignity with benevolence, so that the people did not dare deceive him and a respect for learning grew day by day everywhere. His record as an excellent official was ranked alongside that of Tachibana-no-Yoshimoto, and the height of his reputation was foremost among the members of the imperial house (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

Imperial Prince Asuka

¶In the second year of Kōnin (811), Imperial Prince Asuka was granted Fourth Rank and became Director of the Board of Censors (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In the ninth year (818) he submitted a memorial asking to have his title of Imperial Prince removed and his status lowered to that of ordinary subjects, but this was not granted. He then submitted another memorial asking that the surname Ason be bestowed on the sons and daughters he had fathered. The emperor approved the request and bestowed the surname Kuga-no-Ason on four of his children. From then on, when surnames were given to the royal grandsons, all followed this precedent (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Shoku Nihon Kōki). In the twelfth year (821) he was granted Third Rank. In the eighth year of Tenchō (831) he became Governor of Kōzuke (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In the second month of the first year of Jōwa (834) he died. Asuka was by nature frugal and plain and did not like finery. During the Kōnin era, when the world ran to extravagance and splendor and the nobles of the court adorned their clothing lavishly, Asuka alone did not compete with them, and even in summer he washed his court robes again and again and went on wearing them. When a fine horse was presented to him, he sometimes sold it to meet expenses. When he died, the court mourned him (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki. According to the memorial in this book, Asuka should have had a son, but the various books do not record his name, and there is now no means of determining it).

Imperial Prince Sami

¶Imperial Prince Sami was calm and refined in appearance and bearing, and was very fond of women. In the third year of Kōnin (812) he was granted Fourth Rank (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). In the eighth year (817) he was appointed Director of the Board of Censors. When Emperor Junna ascended the throne, he became Minister of Central Affairs. In the intercalary seventh month of the second year of Tenchō (825) he died, at the age of thirty-three (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku. The Kōin Shōunroku gives his age as thirty-two).

Imperial Prince Daitoku

¶Imperial Prince Daitoku (Note: the Kōin Keizu, the Kōin Shōunroku, and the Ichidai Yōki write Daitoku as Ōno. Here the Nihon Kiryaku is followed) died in the tenth month of the twenty-second year of Enryaku (803), at the age of six.

Imperial Prince Nakano

¶Imperial Prince Nakano was intelligent and eloquent from childhood and generous in temperament (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku). In the twenty-fourth year of Enryaku (805) he was granted fifty chō of land in Kamo district, Aki province, and also two chō of dry fields in Katano district, Kawachi province (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). In the fifth year of Kōnin (814) he was granted Fourth Rank (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku and the Nihon Kiryaku). In the fourth year of Tenchō (827) he became Minister of Central Affairs (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In the seventh year (830) he was appointed Governor-General of Dazaifu (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku and the Nihon Kiryaku). In the tenth year (833) he rose to Third Rank (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku and the Ruijū Kokushi). In the reign of Emperor Ninmyō he was appointed Kazusa-no-taishu, Titular Governor of Kazusa, took up the post of Director of the Board of Censors, became Governor of Kōzuke, was granted Second Rank (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki and the Sandai Jitsuroku), and was transferred to Minister of Ceremonial (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). In the third year of Ninju (853) he concurrently became Governor of Hitachi, and in the early years of Jōgan he again concurrently became Governor of Kazusa; by edict he was permitted to fly hawks outside the forbidden preserves of Kawachi and Settsu. In the fifth year (863) he again became Governor-General of Dazaifu, was permitted to enter and leave the palace in a hand-drawn carriage, and by imperial decree was permitted to keep three strings of hawks and one string of sparrowhawks. Nakano had once learned from Fujiwara-no-Otsugu, Minister of the Left, the manner of presenting the yogoto no senmyō, the congratulatory edict of blessing, and his bearing in doing so was a model for the age. At that time few princes, dukes, or nobles knew the procedure, and Emperor Seiwa by decree had the Sangi go to him to learn it. In the first month of the ninth year (867) he died, at the age of seventy-six. When Emperor Uda ascended the throne, because Nakano was his maternal grandfather, he was posthumously granted First Rank and the office of Dajō-daijin, Chancellor (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku).

¶His sons were Shigeyo, Masayo, Motoyo, Sukeyo, Kiyoyo, Saneyo, Toyo, Ariyo, Yasuyo, Koreyo, Toshiyo, Moriyo, Hideyo, and Fusayo (Note: according to the Seiwa annals of the Sandai Jitsuroku, the prince had fourteen sons, of whom nine, Shigeyo, Masayo, Motoyo, Sukeyo, Kiyoyo, Saneyo, Toyo, Ariyo, and Yasuyo, were granted Fourth Rank, and Koreyo and Toshiyo were both of Fifth Rank. But only nine are seen from Shigeyo to Yasuyo, and adding Koreyo and Toshiyo makes only eleven. The Kōkō annals have a Prince Taneyo, said to be a son of the prince, so perhaps he was omitted from the Seiwa annals. The Kōin Shōunroku lists Shigeyo and those after him and, besides these, records Sueyo, Hideyo, and Fusayo. The Ichidai Yōki also records them, but Taneyo is missing and Suesada seems to have been wrongly added as Sueyo, which appears to be an error. As for Hideyo and Fusayo, no passage in the old histories states clearly that they were sons of Nakano, yet there are rough accounts of their deeds, and from the way they are named it can be inferred. Moreover, counting from Shigeyo to Fusayo makes fourteen, which actually matches the number this book gives. Therefore, following the Ichidai Yōki and the Kōin Shōunroku, Hideyo and Fusayo are added at the end of the sons). Shigeyo served in turn as Danjō-no-daihitsu and Dazai-no-daini, Deputy Governor-General of Dazaifu, of Junior Fourth Rank Upper, and finally became Minister of Justice and Governor of Kaga. His sons Yoshikaze and Sadafumi were both granted the surname Taira-no-Ason at their father's request (Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku makes Sadafumi a son of Yoshikaze, but this is probably a mistake). Yoshikaze was appointed Dazai-no-shōni, Junior Assistant Governor-General (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku), and served in turn as Chūjō, Middle Captain of the Right Palace Guards, of Junior Fourth Rank Lower. Masayo was weak in constitution by nature and disliked exposure to wind and rain; he liked falconry and dogs by temperament but did not venture out, and finally reached Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). Motoyo became Governor of Shimōsa and Provisional Governor of Yamashiro, of Junior Fourth Rank Lower. Sukeyo, by successive promotions, became Minbu-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs, and Sakyō-daibu, of Junior Fourth Rank Upper, and finally Governor of Iyo. His son Prince Yasunori was granted the surname Taira-no-Ason during the Ninna era (885-889). Kiyoyo was recommended as a Monjōshō and served in turn as Head of the Bureau of Education and Minbu-no-taifu, of Junior Fourth Rank Upper. His son Prince Kanayoshi was granted the surname Taira-no-Ason during the Gangyō era and served as Mokunojō, Third Secretary of the Bureau of Carpentry. Emperor Kōkō once summoned him to the Sajō, the guards' station, and had him test his writing. Saneyo served in turn as Head of the Bureau of Education and Governor of Settsu in the early years of Gangyō. In the sixth year (882), by edict, Saneyo and his sons Kageyuki, Akiyuki, Nobuyuki, and Kadoyuki were all granted the surname Taira-no-Ason. His daughters, who had borne royal titles before, afterwards took the name of the Taira. Saneyo later reached Junior Fourth Rank Upper. Toyo served in turn as Nakatsukasa-no-taifu (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku) and Minister of the Imperial Household, was appointed Sangi, concurrently served as Governor of Harima, and reached Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Ariyo became Head of the Saigū-ryō, Office of the Ise Priestess, and Governor of Sagami, of Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku; the governorship of Sagami follows the Kōin Shōunroku). Moriyo became Governor of Kawachi, of Junior Fourth Rank Upper (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku). Koreyo, together with Toshiyo, was granted the surname Taira-no-Ason (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku) and served as Ōtoneri-no-kami, Head of the Palace Attendants, of Junior Fourth Rank Upper. Toshiyo became Governor of Bingo (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku). Prince Yōyū, a son of Taneyo, once committed a crime and was exiled to Awa province. In the first year of Ninna (885) he escaped and fled. The Daijōkan, the Council of State, sent orders to the provinces to search for him, but he was not caught. Hideyo became Governor of Mimasaka, of Junior Fourth Rank Upper (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku). Fusayo served in turn as Nakatsukasa-no-taifu, Provisional Governor of Musashi, and Provisional Governor of Etchū between the Ninju and Tenan eras (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). In the early years of Jōgan he became Provisional Governor of Etchū and was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper. In the fifth year (863) he submitted a memorial asking to be granted the surname Taira-no-Ason like the rest of the clan, and this was permitted (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku). He served in turn as Danjō-no-daihitsu and finally became Governor of Inaba, of Senior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku and the Ruijū Kokushi). Nakano's daughters were Princess Nobuko and Princess Hanshi. Nobuko became the Saiō, High Priestess of Ise, during the Tenchō era (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). In the fourth year of Gangyō (880) she was granted the surname Minamoto-no-Ason. Hanshi entered the harem of Emperor Kōkō and bore Emperor Uda (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku).

Imperial Prince Fujii

¶Imperial Prince Fujii was quick and intelligent from childhood. At the age of six he was granted the right to wear a sword by edict. In the tenth year of Kōnin (819) he was granted Fourth Rank and appointed Hyōbu-kyō, Minister of Military Affairs. In the third year of Tenchō (826) he became Governor of Kōzuke (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). During the Jōwa era he became Governor of Hitachi (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi and the Montoku Jitsuroku). In the eighth year (841) he advanced to Third Rank. Fujii excelled at archery and had the manner of his maternal grandfather, Sakanoue-no-Tamuramaro. Once, when Emperor Saga came out to the Buraku-in and viewed archery, after the ceremony was over he had the imperial princes and the assembled ministers shoot in turn. Fujii was then twelve, but the emperor said to him playfully, "You are young, but take up a bow and arrows." Fujii rose at the command, shot twice, and hit the target both times. Tamuramaro was also in attendance and, greatly pleased, left his seat, embraced Fujii and danced, and then came forward and said, "I once led several hundred thousand troops to subdue the eastern barbarians, but that was wholly owing to the majesty of the Son of Heaven, and I met no enemy wherever I went. Even so, I reflect that in valor and the art of war there is much in which I fall short. Now the prince, though still a child, has such skill in the martial arts, which is beyond anything I could attain." The emperor laughed and said, "Is the general not praising his grandson on his daughter's side too highly?" In the first month of the third year of Kashō (850) he became Governor-General of Dazaifu (Note: the month follows the Shoku Nihon Kōki). In the fourth month he died, at the age of fifty-two. Fujii had always indulged in music, and in his later years gave himself over all the more to drinking parties, until his body grew weak and worn and in the end he fell ill (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). His sons were Prince Motoe and Prince Muneuji (Note: according to the Montoku Jitsuroku, Fujii had more than thirty children. But only these are recorded in the Sandai Jitsuroku, and as to the rest there is no means of determining). Motoe, by successive promotions, became Minbu-no-taifu, Governor of Aki, and Danjō-no-daihitsu, and finally Minister of the Treasury (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki and the Sandai Jitsuroku). Muneuji reached Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku).

Imperial Prince Ōta

¶In the eighteenth year of Enryaku (799), Imperial Prince Ōta was granted fifty-seven chō of wasteland in Settsu province (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). In the third month of the third year of Daidō (808) he died (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Ichidai Yōki). He was sixteen (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki and the Teiō Hennenki).

Imperial Prince Sakamoto

¶In the fourth year of Daidō (809), Imperial Prince Sakamoto was granted four chō of land in the Nagaoka capital (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). In the second year of Kōnin (811) he was granted Fourth Rank and soon became Minister of Civil Administration (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). In the eleventh month of the ninth year (818) he died, at the age of twenty-six (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku).

Nagaoka-no-Okanari

¶In the sixth year of Enryaku (787), Nagaoka-no-Okanari was granted the surname Nagaoka-no-Ason (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi) and had his registry placed in the Right Capital (Note: following the Shōjiroku and the Ichidai Yōki). In the sixth year of Kōnin (815) his registry was changed to the Left Capital (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki and the Kōin Shōunroku). In the tenth year of Tenchō (833) he was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper. In the twelfth month of the first year of Kashō (848) he died (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki).

Yoshimine-no-Yasuyo

¶Yoshimine-no-Yasuyo, in his youth, was fond of falconry and dogs, excelled at shooting from horseback, and was versed in many arts. When he had grown a little, he began to read the Kōkyō, the Classic of Filial Piety, and, laying down the scroll, sighed and said, "The utmost of the teaching of names must surely lie here." From then on he set his mind on learning (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the twenty-first year of Enryaku (802) he was granted the surname Yoshimine-no-Ason and had his registry placed in the Right Capital (Note: following the Shōjiroku and the Kugyō Bunin). In the fourth year of Daidō (809) he became Shōshō, Lesser Captain of the Right Palace Guards, and, because he was skilled in calligraphy and versed in music, concurrently served as Head of the Bureau of Court Music. During the Kōnin era, by successive promotions, he became Kurōdo-no-tō, Head Chamberlain, concurrently served as Assistant Commander of the Left Gate Guards and Governor of Tajima, advanced to Junior Fourth Rank Lower, was appointed Commander of the Left Gate Guards, was transferred to Sakyō-daibu, Governor of the Left Capital, and had his registry changed to the Left Capital. In the seventh year (816) he became Udaiben, Major Controller of the Right, concurrently served as Governor of Mimasaka, was appointed Sangi, Counsellor, and concurrently served as Governor of Ōmi (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the tenth year (819), by imperial command, together with Fujiwara-no-Fuyutsugu, Dainagon, Major Counsellor, and Fujiwara-no-Otsugu, Chūnagon, Middle Counsellor, he took charge of supervising the compilation of the Nihon Kōki (Note: following the preface to the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). Soon afterwards he was transferred to Sadaiben, Major Controller of the Left. In the twelfth year (821) he advanced to Junior Third Rank, was appointed Chūnagon, and concurrently served as Inspector of Mutsu and Dewa (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Together with Fuyutsugu and Fujiwara-no-Mimori and others, he also compiled the Dairi-shiki, the ceremonial regulations of the inner palace, in obedience to an edict (Note: following the preface to the Dairi-shiki). In the following year he concurrently became Tōgū-no-daibu, Master of the Crown Prince's Household (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the twelfth month he submitted this memorial: "I respectfully observe that the order of the Daijōkan of the fifth day of the eighth month of the third year of Kōnin (812) says: 'From now on, in selecting district magistrates, the matter shall be left entirely to the judgment of the provincial governors. If the person selected is unsuitable and shows no effect in his administration, all the officials who signed his register shall be dismissed from their present posts and never employed again, as a warning for the future.' The difficulty of discerning men was one that even the ancients suffered from. Merely because an official is unsuitable, how can it be that mistaken recommendations do not occur? If this regulation is followed to the letter, it will bring punishment on oneself, and fearing the offense, people will hesitate over choosing men and will needlessly lose the chance to employ talent. I beg that the initial selection be reported first, that the candidate be made to pass through various minor duties, and that, when his record has been confirmed, a fresh selection be submitted; the competent office should then calculate his merits and faults, and only then should he be placed in the post. In this way the provincial governors will escape the blame for careless selection, and the district magistrates will give up hope of being appointed by good luck. However, the principle of giving priority to family standing first and considering talent and skill afterwards should remain as in the earlier edict. We have consulted together and so submit this, and we humbly await the decision of Heaven." The memorial was approved (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku). In the fourteenth year (823) he advanced to Senior Third Rank, concurrently became Commander of the Right Palace Guards (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), and became Kebiishi-no-bettō, Chief of the Police Commissioners (Note: this follows a memorial of Yasuyo of the third year of Tenchō in the Ruijū Sandaikyaku, but the date is missing and there is now no means of determining it). In the first year of Tenchō (824) he again submitted this memorial: "The provincial governors of today correspond to what were called the cishi of old. Persons able to bear that office are for the most part hard to find. I humbly beg that one good governor be allowed to hold several provinces concurrently, and that the large and small affairs of government be left to what he requests. As for one or two subordinate officials as well, I beg that they be appointed according to his requests. For if stipends are not generous men are not encouraged, and if men are not encouraged government cannot go on. I ask for their kuge, the public official funds. From among the provinces of the Home Provinces, let rich land be selected and the stipends of two governors be paid together. Let it be tried first in one province, and when the good or bad of the administration has been clearly seen, then let governors be allowed to hold posts concurrently." In the third year (826) he again submitted this memorial: "Kawachi province suffered flood and drought one after another last year, and the people are worn out. Some have wandered off with their whole households, others have had their households die out and have perished, and the customs of the people continue to decline because of this, and the officials of the districts have fled and scattered for that reason. In recent years the sakan, the lowest-ranking officials of the various offices, have been appointed district magistrates, but where there is negligence punishment must always be inflicted, and although each of them had hoped for promotion in rank according to the regulations of the time, they could not bear the disgrace and in the end have fled. As for punishing district magistrates, the jurists do not accept it, and the regulations have no provision for it. I humbly beg that, where persons of the rank of sakan or above who have been made district magistrates commit an offense, they be made to atone by redemption according to the law. In that way they will not have to be removed from their posts, and long-term plans will surely become possible. As for the other district magistrates, no change will be made to the earlier precedents." The memorial was approved, and later it was at last sent down to the provinces and became law (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku). In the seventh month, when Fujiwara-no-Fuyutsugu died, since he was Yasuyo's half-brother by the same mother, Yasuyo pleaded illness and did not attend at court. Emperor Junna repeatedly sent imperial messengers to exhort him earnestly and urge him to attend. In the fifth year (828) he was transferred to Dainagon, retaining his post as Commander as before. In the seventh month of the seventh year (830) he died, at the age of forty-six (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). By edict he was posthumously granted Junior Second Rank (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki and the Sandai Jitsuroku. The Kugyō Bunin's Senior Second Rank is mistaken). The Retired Emperor Saga composed two elegies for him (Note: following the compiled Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). Yasuyo was gifted in letters, and once, in obedience to an edict of Emperor Junna, together with Shigeno-no-Sadanushi, Tōgū Gakushi, Scholar to the Crown Prince, compiled the Keikokushū in twenty volumes (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). By imperial command his poems were included in it. His works are also found in the Ryōunshū and the Bunka Shūreishū and are handed down in the world. His sons were Kotsura, Nagamatsu, Munesada, Kiyokaze, and Asanao (Note: the Nihon Kōki makes Kotsura the first son. The Sandai Jitsuroku makes Kiyokaze the third son. But it does not say which son Nagamatsu was. The Sōgō Bunin makes Munesada the eighth son, and the Kōin Shōunroku makes him the first. Here the order has been fixed by inference from the years of their deaths. As for Asanao, the Sandai Jitsuroku roughly records his deeds, but it does not say he was Yasuyo's son. Here the Kōin Shōunroku is followed and he is listed. Furthermore, the Kōin Shōunroku records Yasuyo's son Tsunenari, who is said to appear in the congratulations section of the Kokin Wakashū. But examining the Kokinshū, it does not say he was Yasuyo's son. According to the account in the Sōgō Bunin, Yasuyo's sons should not have been limited to these. The Montoku Jitsuroku and the Sandai Jitsuroku both record Yoshimine-no-Tsuneyo, who seems to have been Yasuyo's son, but since it is not seen elsewhere, he is not adopted here).

¶Nagamatsu, in the early years of Jōwa, became Provisional Assistant Secretary of Hitachi and was transferred to Secretary of Ise. Because he excelled at playing the zither, he went to Tang as Jun-hangan, Associate Judge of the embassy, following the ambassador Fujiwara-no-Tsunetsugu and others. On the return voyage he met contrary winds and drifted in the southern seas, nearly perishing, but together with the physician Sugawara-no-Kajinari he barely escaped disaster and returned home. Soon afterwards he was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower (Note: compare the Nihon Kōki, the Montoku Jitsuroku, and the Sandai Jitsuroku), became Jijū, Chamberlain, served in turn as Head of the Bureau of Imperial Tombs, Assistant Minister of the Imperial Household, Governor of Musashi, and Provisional Governor of Yamashiro, and reached Junior Fourth Rank Upper. Kiyokaze, between the Jōwa and Jōgan eras, by successive promotions reached Junior Fourth Rank Lower, Governor of Mimasaka, and Provisional Governor of Ōmi. Asanao, between the Jōgan and Gangyō eras, by successive promotions reached Junior Fifth Rank Upper and Governor of Tanba (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku). His son Moroki served in various offices, inner and outer, between the Gangyō and Engi eras (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). At fifty he had still not risen to any notable post. One day he made a pilgrimage to Otokoyama, and was struggling along on foot in an unlucky rain; resting at the Iwashimizu slope, he saw that the mandarin orange tree before the shrine was withering, and composed a poem. In it he likened the aged tree before the god's shrine to himself, saying that the orange tree and Moroki had both grown old together. Afterwards the orange tree regained its vigor, and Moroki was suddenly transferred to Head Chamberlain (Note: following the Ōkagami). Within a few years he served in turn as Chūjō of the Right Palace Guards and rose to Sangi (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). People said it was due to the response of the god (Note: following the Ōkagami). In the end he died while concurrently serving as Governor of Ōmi and Minister of the Imperial Household (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

Kotsura

¶Yoshimine-no-Kotsura was calm and refined in appearance and bearing and had a high reputation from an early age. He was first appointed Daigaku-no-suke, Assistant Head of the Bureau of Education, but resigned the post to observe mourning for his father. In the eighth year of Tenchō (831) he was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower and appointed Assistant Governor of Shimotsuke. When his term had ended he went up to the capital and was appointed Shikibu-no-shō, Junior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial. In the early years of Jōwa he was appointed Assistant Commander of the Right Gate Guards and received the post of Governor of Mutsu. In the sixth year (839), together with Soza-no-Suemori, Chinjufu-shōgun, General in Command of the Garrison, and others, he submitted this memorial: "We humbly observe that recently ill-omened stars have appeared repeatedly and earthquakes have been frequent, and many of the people, fearing portents, have fled. Furthermore, between Isawa castle and Taga castle, the barbarians have extended their power and hold several thousand strong soldiers. If an emergency arose it could not be withstood at all. It is necessary to call up reinforcements at once, to calm the people and make them devote themselves to farming. All the more so since Taga castle is the rear support of Isawa castle, and unless its troops are increased, how can it relieve an emergency? However, if we submit a memorial and wait for a ruling, we fear we may miss the moment. We therefore send out troops and report at the same time." By edict this was permitted. In the following year he again submitted this memorial: "The people of Ōshū all claim to keep the night of Kōshin, yet many still run away, and they cannot be stopped. We ask to dispatch two thousand reinforcements to watch over what happens." This also was permitted (Note: this book records the memorial of the sixth year as that of Soza-no-Suemori, Chinjufu-shōgun, and the memorial of the following year as that of Suemori, former Chinjufu-shōgun. Probably Suemori had already been relieved of his post between the two memorials. But this book does not record how it came about, and there is now no means of determining it). Soon afterwards he was transferred to Sachūben, Middle Controller of the Left. In the following year, when the Retired Emperor died, Kotsura led the troops of the various guard offices to guard the palace precincts. In the eleventh year (844) he advanced to Junior Fourth Rank Lower and was appointed Governor of Echizen. In the sixth month of the second year of Kashō (849) he died, at the age of forty-six. In his prime Kotsura, relying on being the son of a good family, always sought to win fame and favored measures that went beyond the ordinary. In his handling of the kanbe, the households attached to the shrines, he did not follow the old customs but valued above all harsh enforcement, and when his colleagues remonstrated with him he refused and would not listen. When he fell ill, he thought he was himself receiving the retribution for this and tried to repent, but to no avail (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki).

¶Yoshimine-no-Munesada served Emperor Ninmyō and received the greatest favor (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). In the twelfth year of Jōwa (845) he was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower, became Assistant Commander of the Left Gate Guards, soon became Assistant Governor of Bizen, and concurrently served as Lesser Captain of the Left Palace Guards (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki). He was made Head Chamberlain (Note: following the Shokuji Bunin) and reached Junior Fifth Rank Upper. When Emperor Ninmyō died, unable to bear his grief and longing, he took the tonsure and became a monk, wishing to repay the emperor's kindness, and the people of the time pitied him (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). He changed his name to Henjō and studied the Tendai teaching under the monk Ennin (Note: following the Sōgō Bunin and the Zoku Honchō Ōjōden). During the Jōgan era, Imperial Prince Tsuneyasu yielded his own residence, the Unrinin, to Henjō and had him live there (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki). Later he was appointed Hōmu, Administrator of the Law, and the Administrator of the Law of the Tendai school began from this (Note: following the Shakke Kanpanki). Later he founded the Gangyōji temple and became its head. By edict it was ranked among the jōgakuji, the designated temples, three persons were granted to be ordained there each year, and the Unrinin was made its branch temple. In the third year of Gangyō (879) he became Gon-sōjō, Provisional Senior Bishop, and submitted a memorial asking to resign, but a gracious edict was issued and it was not granted. In the sixth year (882) he submitted a petition and set out seven matters. The first: "Whenever members of the Sōgō, the Office of Monastic Affairs, are made concurrently the heads of various temples, as a rule the term of all shall be limited to four years." The next: "As to monks ordained at the various temples, on the day of receiving the precepts the office shall always send the Ministry of Civil Administration, the Genba-ryō, the Bureau of Buddhist Affairs and the like to inspect it, and they shall sign and seal the certificates of precepts" (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku). The next: "At the annual Hōjō Setchie, the festival of releasing living creatures, in the various provinces, the office shall always send a lecturer-reader or a monk of pure conduct from within the jurisdiction, carrying public goods, to the mountains and seas, to buy birds and fish himself and release them" (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). The next: "The people of the various provinces shall be forbidden to put poison in rivers to catch fish whenever the summer season comes." By edict these were put into effect (Note: the remaining three matters are missing, and there is now no means of determining them). In the first year of Ninna (885) he again submitted a memorial asking to resign, but again it was not granted. In the autumn of that year he asked to donate to the temple a hundred and fifty-three chō of ruined fields in Takashima district, Ōmi province, and this was permitted. Soon afterwards he became Sōjō, Senior Bishop, and was given a banquet at the Jijūden to celebrate his seventieth birthday and long life. In the following year an edict was issued which said: "We reflect that you, of a compassionate nature, have protected our person. Day after day we have relied on your wide guidance. That we have been able to inherit this great enterprise and reach this day is perhaps owing to the unseen blessing of your hidden protective power. All the more so because, when you had not yet left the world, and when we were still in the ranks of the princes, we were intimate with one another and formed a bond of kindness, which took shape in both public and private matters. Cultivating Zen and the precepts together, raising your reputation as a monk, taking counsel on worldly business outside and devoting yourself wholly to the practice of the Buddha's Way within, a long span of years has already passed. We have reflected carefully and are deeply moved from afar by the bond of having shared the secular world and by your sincere intention to benefit the country, and the matter of repaying your merit we do not forget asleep or awake. Now, as a special favor, we set aside a fief of one hundred households to meet the expenses of your Zen cloister. We also permit you to enter and leave the palace gate in a hand-drawn carriage. We retain the deep affection of one who lent a hand at the shafts, and add the more generous treatment to your seated meditation. Ah, the perfected man has already loosed the bonds of the world, and his lofty virtue is hard to exhaust in words. We know that fleeting honors beyond the world are not what you like. Yet as an adornment of the human world, allow us for a time to entrust our feelings to it. The true meaning lies beyond words, and there is no need to say more. We hope you will understand this sincerity of ours well" (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku). In the first month of the second year of Kanpyō (890) he died (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki). He was seventy-five (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki, the Kōin Shōunroku, and the Sōgō Bunin. The Genkō Shakusho gives his age as seventy-four, but according to the Sandai Jitsuroku's statement that in the first year of Ninna he was given congratulations for his seventieth year, the Shakusho is mistaken). By edict Imasuke, Prince, Shōnagon, Lesser Counsellor, was sent to the Gangyōji to offer condolences, and three hundred ton of floss silk and one hundred and fifty tan of tribute cloth were granted and sutra recitations were performed (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki). In the world he was called Kazan Sōjō, the Bishop of Kazan (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki and the Sōgō Bunin), and also Chūin Sōjō and Ryō Sōjō (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku). Henjō excelled at waka, and a critic said of him, "He has best grasped the form of poetry, but it is showy and lacks substance; to give an example, it is like looking at a painted beauty, which merely stirs people's hearts to no purpose" (Note: following the preface to the Kokin Wakashū).

¶His two sons both became monks and were called Yushō and Sosei (Note: following the Shorei Shō. The Kōin Shōunroku and the Yamato Monogatari make Sosei the elder, but which is correct is not known. Moreover, the Fusō Ryakki says that Henjō's sons from the time when he was a layman were Kōen and Sosei, two in number. Kōen is probably another name of Yushō, but this is not clear). Yushō became Shō-sōzu, Junior Provisional Bishop, was appointed Risshi, Master of the Discipline (Note: following the Sōgō Bunin and the Shorei Shō), and concurrently served as head of the Yakushiji temple (Note: following the Shorei Shō). Sosei first served Emperor Seiwa and became Right Palace Guards officer (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku). He too excelled at waka, became a monk and lived at the Unrinin (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki. This book says that in the eighth year of Kanpyō (896) he was appointed Gon-risshi, but since it is not seen elsewhere it is not adopted here). Emperor Daigo once summoned him and had him write poems on a folding screen, bestowed wine on him and had him compose waka, and gave him silk, floss silk, and a horse (Note: following the Saikyūki).