was a Japanese court noble and statesman of the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...

. He was the second son of the founder of the Hokke House of the

Fujiwara clan was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until ...

, the '' sangi''

Fujiwara no Fusasaki Fujiwara no Fusasaki (藤原房前, 681 – May 25, 737) was a member of the Fujiwara clan and the founder of the Hokke branch of the Fujiwara.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Fusasaki" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1915). ...

. He achieved the court rank of

Senior First Rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the state. ''Ikai'' as a system was originally used in the Ritsuryo system, which was the politi ...

and the position of

Minister of the Left The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the i ...

, and posthumously of Chancellor of the Realm. He was also known as .

Life

With the early death of his older brother Fujiwara no Torikai, Nagate became the effective leader of the Hokke. In 737, he was promoted from to , but the emperor of the time, Shōmu, favored Nagate's younger brother Yatsuka. Nagate was not promoted again until 749, immediately before the emperor's abdication, when he gained the rank of . He was more highly valued in the court of the new ruler

Empress Kōken , also known as , was the 46th (with the name Empress Kōken) and the 48th monarch of Japan (with the name Empress Shōtoku), Emperor Kōnin, Takano Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. ...

, where he was promoted to in 750 and again in 754 to , marking him among the ranks of the '' kugyō''. Immediately after the death of ex-emperor Shōmu in 756, Nagate was promoted directly to ''

chūnagon was a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705. This advisory position remained a part of the I ...

'', skipping ''sangi'' entirely. On the other hand, he remained in conflict with his powerful relative

Fujiwara no Nakamaro , also known as , Brown, Delmer M. (1979). ''Gukanshō,'' p. 274 was a Japanese aristocrat (''kuge''), courtier, and statesman. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Fujiwara no Nakamaro"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 207. He was Chancellor ('' Daij ...

. After the disinheritance of Crown Prince Funado in 757, he joined with Fujiwara no Toyonari in supporting Prince Shioyaki as Empress Kōken's new heir, but Nakamaro's favored candidate Prince Ōi, the future

Emperor Junnin was the 47th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 淳仁天皇 (47)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. The seventh son of Prince Toneri and a grandson of Emperor Tenmu, his reign spanned the years 758 to ...

, won out. In 758, Nagate was the only member of a committee to sit out a ''

daijō-kan The , also known as the Great Council of State, was (i) (''Daijō-kan'') the highest organ of Japan's premodern Imperial government under the Ritsuryō legal system during and after the Nara period or (ii) (''Dajō-kan'') the highest organ of J ...

'' meeting called by Nakamaro. After 757, Nakamaro controlled the court, and this bad relationship left Nagate in an uncomfortable political position, despite his status as the third most powerful man in the Daijō-kan after

Ishikawa no Toshitari Ishikawa may refer to: Concepts *Ishikawa diagram, cause-and-effect diagram, developed by Kaoru Ishikawa Places *Ishikawa Prefecture, a prefecture in the Chūbu region on Honshū island, Japan *Ishikawa District, Ishikawa, a former district in I ...

and Fun'ya no Kiyomi. In 764, Fujiwara no Nakamaro rebelled, and Nagate supported the side of Empress Kōken and

Dōkyō was a Japanese monk of the Hossō sect of Buddhism and a prominent political figure in the Nara period. Early life Dōkyō was born in Kawachi Province. His family, the Yuge no Muraji, were part of the provincial gentry. He was taught both by ...

. He was promoted to and ''

dainagon was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...

'' and conferred honors, second-class. After Dōkyō established his power, and after Toyonari's death in 765, Nagate held his position as the most powerful ''kugyō'' in the ''daijō-kan'' until his death. In 766 he was promoted to ''

udaijin was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''udaijin'' in the context of a central administ ...

'' and then '' sadaijin'', and obtained the rank of . Empress Kōken died in 770, and in the ensuing dispute over the heir, Nagate supported Prince Shirakabe, the future

Emperor Kōnin was the 49th emperor of Japan, Emperor Kōnin, Tahara no Higashi Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Kōnin's reign lasted from 770 to 781. Traditional narrative The personal name of ...

. He was rewarded for his efforts with a promotion to by the new sovereign. Nagate died of sickness on March 11, 771, at the age of 58. He was posthumously granted the position of ''Daijō-daijin'' on the same day.

Genealogy

* Father:

* Mother: Muro no Ōkimi (daughter of Prince Minu) * Wife: Ōno no Nakachi (daughter of

Ōno no Azumabito was a samurai and court official of Japan's Nara period. A child of Ōno no Hatayasu (大野果安). In 724, he fought alongside Fujiwara no Umakai against the Emishi people of Mutsu Province. Azumabito was later appointed to the Imperial p ...

) * Wife: (daughter of Fujiwara no Torikai) ** Son: Fujiwara no Ieyori (743–785) * Wife: (daughter of

Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu was a Japanese statesman, courtier, and politician of the Nara period. He was the second son of the founder of the Shikike branch of the Fujiwara, Fujiwara no Umakai. His original name was . He was the maternal grandfather of the emperors Heizei a ...

) ** Son: Fujiwara no Oyori ** Daughter: (wife of

) * Wife: (unknown) ** Daughter: Wife of Fujiwara no Kosemaro ** Daughter: (?–800) Wife of Fujiwara no Uchimaro

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujiwara no, Nagate Fujiwara clan 714 births 771 deaths People of Nara-period Japan