Fujiwara clan

The Fujiwara clan (??? Fujiwara-shi) was a clan of regents who had sort of monopoly to the Sekkan positions, Sessh? and Kampaku. The founder Nakatomi no Kamatari (614-669) was given the surname Fujiwara by Emperor Tenji. They dominated the Japanese politics of Heian period. In subsequent eras, they were influential.

Related Topics:
''Sessh? and Kampaku'' - Nakatomi no Kamatari - Emperor Tenji - Heian

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During the Nara period Fujiwara clan's political influence was initiated. Nakatomi no Kamatari, a member of the lower-nobility Nakatomi family, sided with Prince Naka no ?e (the future Emperor Tenji), when the imperial authority was challenged by the Soga clan. Naka no ?e and Nakatomi no Kamatari led a coup against the Soga in 645 and initiated a series of sweeping government reforms (the Taika Reform). In 669 Emperor Tenji (reigned 661-671), bestowed the kabane Fujiwara no Ason on Kamatari. The surname passed to the descendants of Fujiwara no Fuhito (659-770), the eldest son and heir of Kamatari, who was prominent at the court of several emperors and empresses. He made his daughter Miyako a concubine of Emperor Mommu. Her son, Prince Obito became Emperor Sh?mu. Fuhito succeeded in making another of his daughters, K?my?shi, the empress consort of Emperor Sh?mu. She was the first empress consort of Japan who wasn't a daughter of the imperial family itself. Fuhito had four sons and each of those four founded a family. Among them, the Hokke (the northern family) seized power and was considered the leader of the entire clan.

Related Topics:
Nara period - Nakatomi - Emperor Tenji - Soga - Taika Reform - Kabane - Fujiwara no Fuhito - Emperor Mommu - Emperor Sh?mu

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During the Heian period of Japanese history, the Hokke managed to establish a hereditary claim to the position of regent, either for an underage emperor (sessh?) or for an adult one (kampaku). Some prominent Fujiwaras occupied these positions more than once, and for more than one emperor. Lesser members of the Fujiwara were court nobles, provincial governors and vice governors, members of the provincial aristocracy, and samurai. The Fujiwara was one of the four great families that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian Period (794-1185), and the miost important of them at that time. The others were the Tachibana, the Taira and the Minamoto. The Fujiwara exercised tremendous power, especially during the period of regency governments in 10th and 11th centuries, having many emperors as practially puppet monarchs.

Related Topics:
Heian - Regent - Court - Nobles - Provincial - Governor - Aristocracy - Samurai - The Tachibana - The Taira - The Minamoto - Puppet monarch

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The Fujiwara dominated the government of Japan 794-1160. There is no clear starting point of their dominance. However, their domination of civil administration was lost by the establishment of the first shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1192.

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Fujiwara princes initially served as highest ministers of the imperial Court (kampaku) and regents (sessh?) for underage monarchs. The Fujiwara were the proverbial "power behind the throne" for centuries. Apparently they never aspired to supplant the imperial dynasty. Instead, the clan's influence stemmed from its matrimonial alliances with the imperial family. Because consorts of crown princes, younger sons, and emperors were generally Fujiwara women, the male heads of the Fujiwara house were often the father-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, or maternal grandfather of the emperor. The family reached the peak of its power under Fujiwara no Michinaga (966-1027), a longtime kampaku who was the grandfather of three emperors, the father of six empresses or imperial consorts, and the grandfather of seven additional imperial consorts.

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Only forty years after Michinaga's death, his Fujiwara heirs were not able to prevent the ascension of Emperor Go-Sanj? (reigned 1068-1073), the first emperor since Emperor Go-Uda whose mother was not a Fujiwara. The system of government by retired emperor (daij? tenn?) (cloistered rule) beginning from 1087 further weakened the Fujiwara's control over the Imperial Court.

Related Topics:
Emperor Go-Sanj? - Emperor Go-Uda - Cloistered rule

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The Fujiwara-dominated Heian period approached its end along disturbances of 12th century. The dynastic struggle known as the H?gen Disturbance (H?gen no Ran) led to the Taira emerging as the most powerful clan in 1156. During the Heiji Disturbance (Heiji no Ran) in 1160 the Taira defeated the coalition of Fujiwara and Minamoto forces. This defeat marked the end of the Fujiwara's dominance.

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During the 13th century, the Fujiwara northern house was split into the five regent houses (???): Konoe, Takatsukasa, Kuj?, Nij? and Ichij?. They had a "monopoly" to the offices of sessh? and kampaku, and served in turn. The political power had shifted away from the court nobility in Kyoto to the new warrior class in the countryside. However, Fujiwara princes remained close advisors, regents and ministers to the emperors for centuries, until the 20th century. As such, they had certain political power and much influence, as often the rival warriors and later bakufus sought their alliance.

Related Topics:
13th century - Five regent houses - Konoe - Takatsukasa - Kuj? - Nij? - Ichij?

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Until the marriage of the Crown Prince Hirohito (posthumously Emperor Sh?wa) to Princess Kuni Nagako (Kuninomiya Nagako Nyo?) in January 1924, the principal consorts of emperors and crown princes had always been recruited from one of the Sekke Fujiwara. Imperial princesses were often married to Fujiwara lords - throughout a millennium at least. As recently as Emperor Sh?wa's third daughter, the late former Princess Takanomiya (Kazoku), and Prince Mikasa's elder daughter, the former Princess Yasuko, married into Takatsukasa and Konoe families, respectively.

Related Topics:
Hirohito - Kuni Nagako - Sekke

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