Fujiwara no Tanetsugu

Fujiwara no Tanetsugu
藤原種継
Fujiwara no Tanetsugu; 藤原種継
Born	737
Died	785 (aged 47–48)
Family	Fujiwara Shikike
Father	Fujiwara no Kiyonari

Fujiwara no Tanetsugu (藤原種継, 737^[1] – November 4, 785) was a Japanese noble of the late Nara period. He was the grandson of the sangi Fujiwara no Umakai, the founder of the Fujiwara Shikike. He reached the court rank of shō san-mi (正三位) and the position of chūnagon. He was posthumously awarded the rank of shō ichi-i (正一位) and the position of daijō-daijin.

Life

The Shoku Nihongi first mentions Tanetsugu in 766, when he was promoted from ju roku-i no jō (従六位上) to ju go-i no ge (従五位下). Two years later, in 768, he was appointed as governor of Mimasaka Province.

Thanks to the Shikike's staunch support of Emperor Kōnin's ascension, the family was successful in his court. Tanetsugu held various positions as a provincial governor, as well as civil and military roles, and was steadily promoted through the ranks, reaching ju shi-i no ge (従四位下) in 781. After the deaths of his uncles Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu and Fujiwara no Momokawa, Tanetsugu came to represent the Shikike as the oldest grandson of Umakai.

Along with the ascension of Emperor Kanmu in 781, Tanetsugu was promoted to ju shi-i no jō (従四位上). With the Emperor's deep trust, Tanetsugu was promoted quickly, joining the kugyō with a promotion to sangi in 782. In 783, he was promoted to ju san-mi (従三位), and in 784 was made chūnagon.

Nagaoka-kyō

In 784, Kanmu wanted to move the capital away from Heijō-kyō. Tanetsugu recommended the location of Nagaoka-kyō as the spot for the new capital. By the Emperor's command, Tanetsugu inspected the site along with Fujiwara no Oguromaro [ja], Saeki no Imaemishi [ja], Ki no Funamori [ja], Ōnakatomi no Kōyu [ja], and Sakanoue no Karitamaro. Later that year, Tanetsugu was put in charge of the construction of the new capital. His appointment may have had the backing of his mother's family, the Hata clan, whose base of operations in Yamashiro Province was near the new capital site. Several members of the Hata clan were later promoted into the aristocracy based on their meritorious service in the construction.

Assassination

In 785, soon after the move of the capital, Tanetsugu was shot with an arrow while supervising the construction, and died the next day. Emperor Kanmu was absent at the time, visiting Yamato Province. Ōtomo no Takeyoshi (大伴竹良) was first arrested for the assassination, and after an investigation ten more people were executed, including Ōtomo no Tsuguhito (大伴継人) and Saeki no Takanari (佐伯高成). Ōtomo no Yakamochi, who had died a month before the incident, was identified as the ringleader and removed from the register of past officials. Several more people were implicated and exiled.

Later, Prince Sawara was disinherited from his position as crown prince and exiled to Awaji Province, but died en route. There may have been discord between Sawara and Tanetsugu, but whether Sawara was actually involved in the assassination is not clear. A number of the officials involved in the assassination, including Takanari, were employed in the Crown Prince's Quarters. This incident, along with the fear of Sawara's vengeful ghost, contributed to the decision to move the capital again to Heian-kyō a short time later.

Tanetsugu's final rank was shō san-mi (正三位), and he held the positions of chūnagon and director of the Shikibu-shō. He was 49 when he died. Emperor Kanmu posthumously promoted him to shō ichi-i (正一位) and sadaijin, and in 809 he was granted the additional posthumous position of Daijō-daijin.

Individuals punished in connection with the incident

Person^[2]	Position	Punishment	Pardon
Prince Sawara	Crown Prince	Disinherited and exiled to Awaji Province; died in transit	Posthumously elevated to the throne as Emperor Sudō in 800
Haruhara no Ioe (五百枝王)	ju shi-i no jō (従四位上) and division chief in the imperial guard (右兵衛督)	Banished to Iyo Province	Rank restored in 806
Ōtomo no Yakamochi	ju san-mi (従三位) and chūnagon	Dead at the time, but stripped of his rank	Rank posthumously restored in 806
Ōtomo no Tsuguhito (大伴継人)	ju go-i no ge (従五位下) and sadaiben (左少弁)	Death (Beheading)	Rank posthumously restored in 806
Ōtomo no Mamaro (大伴真麻呂)	ju go-i no ge (従五位下) and director of the tax bureau (主税頭)	Death (Beheading)	Rank posthumously restored in 806
Ōtomo no Naganushi (大伴永主)	ju go-i no ge (従五位下) and assistant director of the Capital (右京亮)	Banished to Oki Province	Rank restored in 806
Ōtomo no Takeyoshi (大伴竹良)	General in the imperial guard (右衛門大尉)	Death (Beheading)
Ōtomo no Minatomaro (大伴湊麻呂)	Yamato-taijō (大和大掾)	Death (Beheading)
Ōtomo no Kunimichi (大伴国道)		Banishment to Sado Province	Pardoned and returned to the capital in 803
Saeki no Takanari (佐伯高成)	Assistant inspector in the Crown Prince's Quarters (春宮少進)	Death (Beheading)
Ki no Shiromaro (紀白麻呂)	ju go-i no jō (従五位上) and assistant director of the Crown Prince's Quarters (春宮亮)	Banished to Oki Province	Restored to rank of shō go-i no ge (正五位上) in 806
Fujiwara no Oyori (藤原雄依)	shō shi-i no ge (正四位下) and director of the Ministry of the Treasury (大蔵卿)	Banished to Oki Province	Restored to rank of ju shi-i no ge (従四位下) in 806
Tajihi no Hamahito (多治比浜人)	Chief secretary in the Crown Prince's Quarters (春宮主書首)	Death (Beheading)
Hayashi no Inamaro (林稲麻呂)	Outside (外) ju go-i no ge (従五位下) and tutor to the Crown Prince (東宮学士)	Banished to Izu Province	Rank restored in 806
Hōki no Bachimaro (伯耆桴麻呂)	In the imperial guard (近衛)	Death (Beheading)
Oshika no Kitsumimaro (牡鹿木積麻呂)	In the imperial guard (中衛)	Death (Beheading)

Genealogy

Father: Fujiwara no Kiyonari
Mother: daughter of Hata no Asamoto (秦朝元の娘)
Wife: daughter of Awata no Michimaro (粟田道麻呂)
- Eldest son: Fujiwara no Nakanari (藤原仲成, 764–810)
Wife: daughter of Yamamoto no Nakamune (山口中宗女)
- Son: Fujiwara no Yamahito (藤原山人)
Wife: daughter of Karidaka no Samimaro (雁高佐美麻呂)
- Second son: Fujiwara no Kazuramaro (藤原縵麻呂, 768–821)
Wife: daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugutada (藤原継縄)
- Son: Fujiwara no Yasutsugu (藤原安継), possibly instead a son of Kiyonari
Wife: daughter of Fujiwara no Tadanushi (藤原縄主)
Other children:
- Son: Fujiwara no Fujio (藤原藤生)
- Fourth son: Fujiwara no Yotsugu (藤原世嗣, 779–831)
- Son: Ide no Yumori (井出湯守)
- Daughter: Fujiwara no Kusuko (藤原薬子, ?–810), court lady of Emperor Heizei
- Daughter: Fujiwara no Azumako (藤原東子, ?–816), court lady of Emperor Kanmu

Notes

^ Based on age at death given in the Shoku Nihongi
^ Nihon Kiryaku

References

Kimoto, Yoshinobu (1998). "藤原種継" [Fujiwara no Tanetsugu]. 藤原式家官人の考察 [An Inspection of the Officials of the Fujiwara Shikike] (in Japanese). Takashina Shoten (高科書店).
Kimoto, Yoshinobu (2003). "藤原種継暗殺と早良廃太子の政治的背景" [The Political Background of the Assassination of Fujiwara no Tanetsugu and the Disinheritance of Prince Sawara]. 奈良時代の人びとと政争 [People and Political Struggles of the Nara Period] (in Japanese). Ōfū.
Kitayama, Shigeo (1959). "藤原種継事件の前後" [Before and After the Fujiwara no Tanetsugu Incident]. 日本古代政治史の研究 [Research on Ancient Japanese Political History] (in Japanese). Iwanami Shoten (岩波書店).
Kuroita, Katsumi, ed. (1974). 続日本紀後編 [Shoku Nihongi Part 2]. Revised and Expanded Japanese History Compendium (新訂増補國史大系) (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). ISBN 4642000046.
Kuroita, Katsumi, ed. (1974). 日本後紀 [Nihon Kōki]. Revised and Expanded Japanese History Compendium (新訂増補國史大系) (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). ISBN 4642000054.
Kuroita, Katsumi, ed. (1984). 日本紀略第二 [Nihon Kiryaku Part 2]. Revised and Expanded Japanese History Compendium (新訂増補國史大系) (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). ISBN 4642000623.
Sakaehara, Towao (1986). "藤原種継暗殺事件後の任官人事" [Bureaucratic Restructuring after the Fujiwara no Tanetsugu Assassination Incident]. 長岡京古文化論叢 [Essays on the Ancient Culture of Nagaoka-kyō] (in Japanese). Dōhōsha Publishing (同朋社出版).
Sakamoto, Tarō; Hirano, Kunio, eds. (1990). 日本古代氏族人名辞典 [Dictionary of Ancient Japanese Clans and Names] (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). ISBN 4642022430.
Sakaue, Yasutoshi (2001). "律令国家の転換と「日本」" [Changes in the Ritsuryō State and "Japan"]. 日本の歴史 [Japanese History] (in Japanese). Vol. 6. Kodansha (講談社). ISBN 4062689057.
Takeuchi, Rizō, ed. (1973). 日本古代人名辭典 [Dictionary of Historical Japanese Names] (in Japanese). Vol. 6. Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). ISBN 4642020063.

[1] Based on age at death given in the Shoku Nihongi

[2] Nihon Kiryaku

[Brinkley-3] Brinkley, Frank and Dairoku Kikuchi. (1915). A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era. New York: Encyclopædia Britannica. OCLC 413099

[top-4] Kanai, Madoka; Nitta, Hideharu; Yamagiwa, Joseph Koshimi (1966). A topical history of Japan. Sub-Committee on Far Eastern Language Instruction of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation. p. 6.

[Cam-5] Brown, Delmer M. (1988). The Cambridge History of Japan: Volume 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521223522.

[Hanawa-6] 平城宮兵部省跡. 奈良文化財研究所. 2005. p. 168.

[7] Yoshikawa, Toshiko (2006). 仲麻呂政権と藤原永手・八束（真楯）・千尋（御楯）. Hanawa Shobō (塙書房). ISBN 978-4-8273-1201-0.

[8] Tyler, Royall (1993). The Book of the Great Practice: The Life of the Mt. Fuji Ascetic Kakugyō Tōbutsu Kū (PDF). Asian Folklore Studies. p. 324.

[9] Yoneda, Yūsuke (2002). 藤原摂関家の誕生. 吉川弘文館. p. 139.

[10] Nakagawa, Osamu (1991). "藤原良継の変" [The Rise of Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu]. 奈良朝政治史の研究 [Political History of the Nara Period] (in Japanese). Takashina Shoten (高科書店).

[11] Kimoto, Yoshinobu (1998). 藤原式家官人の考察. 高科書店. p. 47. ISBN 978-4-87294-923-0.

[12] Takemitsu, Makoto (2013). 日本史の影の主役藤原氏の正体: 鎌足から続く1400年の歴史. PHP研究所. p. 103. ISBN 978-4569761046.

[13] ttp://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~sg2h-ymst/hamanari.html

[nussbaum-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). In Japan Encyclopedia at Google Books; Brinkley, Frank et al. (1915).

[15] Kimoto, Yoshinobu (2004). "『牛屋大臣』藤原是公について" [On "Ushiya-Daijin" Fujiwara no Korekimi]. 奈良時代の藤原氏と諸氏族 [The Fujiwara Clan and Other Clans of the Nara Period] (in Japanese). Ohfu.

[16] Kurihara, Hiromu. 藤原内麿家族について [The Family of Fujiwara no Uchimaro]. Japanese History (日本歴史) (in Japanese) (511).

[Kurihara-17] Kurihara, Hiromu (2008). "藤原冬嗣家族について" [Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu's Family]. 平安前期の家族と親族 [Family and Relatives During the Early Heian Period] (in Japanese). Azekura Shobo (校倉書房). ISBN 978-4-7517-3940-2.

[Yoshikawa-18] 公卿補任 [Kugyō Bunin] (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). 1982.

[Kitayama-19] Kitayama, Shigeo (1973). 日本の歴史4 平安京 [History of Japan IV: Heian-kyō] (in Japanese). Chūkō Bunko (中公文庫). p. 242.

[Dict2010-20] 日本古代氏族人名辞典（普及版） [Dictionary of Names from Ancient Japanese Clans (Trade Version)] (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). 2010. ISBN 978-4-642-01458-8.

[Yamamoto-21] Nobuyoshi, Yamamoto (2003). 摂関政治史論考 (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). ISBN 978-4-642-02394-8.

[Sasayama-22] Haruo, Sasayama (2003). "藤原兼通の政権獲得過程". 日本律令制の展開 (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). ISBN 978-4-642-02393-1.

[23] Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

[Papinot-24] Papinot, Edmond (1910). Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha.

[25] Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; OCLC 251325323

[26] Varley, Paul (2000). Japanese Culture. Fourth Edition. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Press.

[27] Uejima, Susumu (2010). "日本中世社会の形成と王権". 中世庄園制の形成過程―〈立庄〉再考 (in Japanese). The University of Nagoya Press. ISBN 978-4-8158-0635-4.

[Owada-28] Owada, Tetsuo (2003). 日本史諸家系図人名辞典 (in Japanese). Kodansha. ISBN 978-4062115780.

[29] "卷之一百四十二列傳第六十九". 大日本史 (in Japanese). 1715.

[30] Kimoto, Yoshinobu (2000). "後二条師通記と藤原師通". 平安朝官人と記録の研究―日記逸文にあらわれたる平安公卿の世界 (in Japanese). ISBN 978-4273031565.

[31] Araki, Hiroshi (2009). "中世の皇統迭立と文学形成 1院政期から中世への視界坂上の宝剣と壺切―談話録に見る皇統・儀礼の古代と中世―". 皇統迭立と文学形成 (in Japanese). ISBN 978-4-7576-0513-8.

[Sansom-32] Sansom, George (1958). A history of Japan to 1334. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804705232.

[33] "The World Turned Upside Down" translated by Kathe Roth, p. 27

[Yamada-34] Yamada, Akiko (2010). 中世前期女性院宮の研究 (in Japanese). ISBN 978-4784214969.

[Natanabe-35] Natanabe, Naohiko (1994). 古代史論叢 (in Japanese). ISBN 978-4797106558.

[Sonpi-57-36] "藤原北家．近衛". 尊卑分脈 (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). 1904. p. 57.

[Sonpi–77-37] "藤原北家．九条". 尊卑分脈 (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). 1904. p. 77.

[Sonpi–64-38] "藤原北家．近衛". 尊卑分脈 (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). 1904. p. 65.

[39] Jinson [in Japanese]. 大乗院日記目録.

[Sonpi–80-40] "藤原北家．九条". 尊卑分脈 (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). 1904. p. 80.

[41] ネケト. 二条家（摂家） (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2004-08-15. Retrieved 2007-09-09.

[42] ネケト. 一条家（摂家） (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-08-18.

[1]

[2]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36]

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	United States Japan
Other	IdRef