Fujiwara no Suenori (藤原季範, 1090 – December 27, 1155) was a Japanese

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

and

High Priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...

Atsuta Shrine is a Shinto shrine traditionally believed to have been established during the reign of Emperor Keikō (71-130) located in Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. The shrine is familiarly known as ''Atsuta-Sama'' (Venerable Atsuta) or simpl ...

during the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

, belonging to the Nanke House of the powerful

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 th ...

. He was the grandfather of

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

, the founder and first

shogun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

. He held the court rank of Junior Fourth Rank.

Life

Suenori was born in 1090, in

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces were ...

, where his father Fujiwara no Suekane ruled as the acting governor (''

daikan ''Daikan'' (代官) was an official in Japan that acted on behalf of a ruling monarch or a lord at the post they had been appointed to. Since the Middle Ages, ''daikan'' were in charge of their territory and territorial tax collection. In the Edo ...

'') of Owari Province. At the time of his birth, his father was considerably old at 47 years of age, and died when Suenori was 12 years old. Suenori's mother was the daughter of Owari Kazumoto, the high priest (''daigūji)'' of

. The

Owari clan Owari may refer to: * The Owari Mandarin orange, a widely cultivated fruit of Japanese origin * Additional Japan-related topics: ** Owari House, a branch family of the Tokugawa clan that ruled Japan during the Edo era ** Owari Province, a former re ...

had established the Atsuta Shrine in 192, and held the position of the shrine's high priest since ancient times, passing it down from generation to generation. However, in 1114, Kazumoto handed the position over to Suenori, who was from the

. Since then, the Fujiwara clan became the head of Atsuta Shrine, while the Owari clan stepped down to the position of adjutant chief priest (''gongūji''). In August of the 3rd year of

Hōen was a after '' Chōshō'' and before ''Eiji.'' This period spanned the years from September 1135 through July 1141. The reigning emperor was . Change of Era * February 15, 1035 : The new era name ''Hōen'' was created to mark an event or a s ...

(1137), Suenori, having seen a dream, passed the position of high priest down to his fifth son, Norimasa. However, after Suenori's death in 1155, his eldest son Noritada took the position from his younger brother. Outside Owari Province, Suenori spent a lot of his time in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, and received the court rank of Junior Fourth Rank. Suenori died in 1155, at the age of 65.

Genealogy

Suenori was the grandfather of

, the founder and first shogun of the

, through his daughter

Yura Gozen Yura may refer to: Place * Yura, Wakayama, a town in Japan * Yura District, a district in Peru * Yura Station, a railway station in Japan Ethnic groups and languages *Yura, or Adnyamathanha, an indigenous group of South Australia *Yura, or ...

who married

Minamoto no Yoshitomo (1123 – 11 February 1160) was the head of the Minamoto clan and a general of the late Heian period of Japanese history. His son Minamoto no Yoritomo became ''shōgun'' and founded the Kamakura shogunate, the first shogunate in the history of ...

. Thus, besides the Imperial Court, the family had close ties to the

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

military government as well.

Family

* Father: Fujiwara no Suekane * Mother: Owari Motoko, daughter of Owari Kazumoto * Wife: Daughter of

Minamoto no Yukihiro was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...

** Eldest son: Fujiwara no Noritada *Unknown mother: ** Fifth son:

Fujiwara no Norimasa Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...

** Son: Fujiwara no Norinobu ** Son: Fujiwara no Noritsuna ** Son: Noritomo ** Son: Nagaaki ** Son: Sukenori ** Daughter: Chiaki Ama, Jōsaimon-in's

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

** Daughter: Daishin no Tsubone, Taikenmon-in's lady-in-waiting ** Daughter:

's official wife,

Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after hi ...

's mother ** Daughter: Minamoto no Morotaka's wife *Adopted children: **Daughter: Ashikaga no Yoshiyasu's official wife

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujiwara no, Suenori Fujiwara clan 1090 births 1155 deaths People of Heian-period Japan Japanese nobility

Life

Genealogy

Family

See also

References