Fujiwara no Fuhito

Fujiwara no Fuhito, drawing by Kikuchi Yōsai (1788–1878)

Fujiwara no Fuhito ( Japanese 藤原 不比 等 ; * 659 ; † summer 720 ) was a powerful member of the imperial court in Japan during the Asuka and Nara periods .

Fujiwara no Fuhito was the second son of Fujiwara no Kamatari or, according to another theory, of Emperor Tenji . He had sons of two women, from whom the four main lines of the Fujiwara then proceeded, namely the so-called south, north, ceremonial and capital lines. He also had four daughters from other women, three from Kamohime, one from Tachibana no Michiyo. A daughter of Kamohime became Emperor Mommu's wife Miyako. This gave birth to Emperor Shōmu . Michiyo's daughter became the empress of Shōmu.

During the reign of Emperor Mommu, the government ordered that only descendants of Fuhito were allowed to bear the name "Fujiwara" and were eligible for the post of Daijokan , the chief administrative officer.

Fuhito was 13 years old when the Jinshin Civil War broke out. His father had been a strong supporter of Emperor Tenji, but by then he had died and Fuhito was too young for a government post, so he did not become involved in this political conflict. In 688 he first appeared as a courtier.

In 697 Prince Karu, the son of Prince Kusakabe and grandson of Emperor Temmu and Empress Jitō , was named Crown Prince.

Fuhito supported this appointment clearly and won the favor of the Empress Jitō. From then on his career at court began. In 701 Miyako gave birth to Prince Obito and later Emperor Shomu. Fuhito managed to make him crown prince and married his other daughter to him. Previously, only one member of the imperial family could become empress, but Fuhito secured the appointment of his daughter as Empress of Obito, making her the first empress from outside the imperial family.

He moved the Yamashina-dera , the most important Buddhist temple sponsored by his family, to Nara and renamed it Kofuku-ji . After his death in 768 the Kasuga Shrine , the Shinto main shrine of the Fujiwara, was settled near Kofuku-ji.

He participated in the preparation of a code of law ( Ritsuryō , especially the Taihō Codex and its new version, the Yōrō-ritsuryō ), after the completion of which he died in the summer of 720 .

When he was dying, he was made an honorary Udaijin, one of the ministers. After his death, the court honored him with the two titles Bunchū-kō ( 文忠 公 ) and Ōmi-kō ( 淡 海 公 , "Lord of Ōmi") and with the office of Daijō Daijin , the highest court office.

See also

• Fujiwara the clan