, also read as Kiyokimi, was a Japanese court noble, poet, and politician of the early

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 Japan ...

. He served as Vice Minister of Ceremonial Affairs, Mayor of the Left Capital District, and Vice Governor of

Harima Province or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During t ...

(824-825), and held the court rank of

Junior Third 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 poli ...

. He was the father of

Sugawara no Koreyoshi was a Japanese aristocrat, poet and politician of the early Heian period. He was the fourth son of Sugawara no Kiyotomo. He reached the court rank of and the position of '' sangi''. Life Koreyoshi was said to be intelligent and wise from ...

, and grandfather of

Sugawara no Michizane was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in Kanshi poetry, and is today revered in Shinto as the god of learning, . In the poem anthology '' Hyakunin Isshu'', he is know ...

who was deified as Tenjin, the deity of scholarship.

Life

He was born in 770 as the fourth son of Governor ('' suke kokushi'') of

Tōtōmi Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The or ...

, Sugawara no Furuhito. Although his father was a well-known

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

scholar, his home was poor and Kiyotomo and his brothers suffered from poverty. Because his home was poor, he decided to study economic history. In 784, after an imperial edict, he began his service under Crown Prince Sawara and became a student of literary studies at the Imperial University in 789, at the age of 20. He excelled in his studies and was a ''monjō tokugōshō'', a title awarded to the two best students at the university who are eligible to take the examination to become a government official. After this, Kiyotomo was appointed Junior Secretary ( ''shōjō'') of

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...

. In 798, he was appointed Junior Secretary of the Imperial University. In 804, he was sent as a missionary to Tang China, and following this,

Emperor Saga was the 52nd emperor of Japan, Emperor Saga, Saganoyamanoe Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Saga's reign spanned the years from 809 through 823. Traditional narrative Saga was the ...

changed his formal dress into Tang style. Returning in 805, Kiyotomo was influential in bringing several attributes of Tang culture into the Japanese court, such as Tang architecture and court manners. He was also a well-known scholar of his time, giving lectures to the court nobility about Chinese books such as '' Wen Xuan'' and ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

.'' After his return from Tang China, he received the court rank of

Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade 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 poli ...

and was appointed assistant director of the Imperial University (''daigaku no suke''). After this, he served as chief expert on literacy (''monjō hakase''), Vice Minister of Ceremonial Affairs (''shikibu taifu''), Senior Assistant of the Imperial Prosecuting and Investigating Office (''danjō daihitsu''), and Mayor of the Left Capital District (''Sakyō no Daibu''), and received the court rank of

. In 824, Kiyotomo was appointed as Vice Governor (''gon no kami'') of

. However, the upper court nobility (''

kugyō is the collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre- Meiji eras. The term generally referred to the and court officials and denoted a court rank between First Rank and Third Rank un ...

'') opposed this decision as they did not want "the founding father of the nation" of such great talent to be sent so far. He was sent back to the capital the next year. In his elder years, he began having trouble to walk, and was allowed to enter the Imperial Palace on a bullock carriage. It is said that his appearance never seemed to age and he always used "an effective medicine", which is thought to be something he received in Tang China. Kiyotomo also helped compile a poetry anthology called ''

Ryōunshū The was the first imperially commissioned Japanese kanshi collection. It was compiled by Ono no Minemori, Sugawara no Kiyotomo and others under the command of Emperor Saga was the 52nd emperor of Japan, Emperor Saga, Saganoyamanoe Imperial ...

'', along with

Ono no Minemori Ono no Minemori (小野岑守; 778–830) was a Japanese historian, poet, and politician of the early Heian period. He wrote in the '' kanshi'' style of poetry. Biography Ono no Minemori was born in 778. He was the third son of , the '. He w ...

, in 814. He also participated in the compilation of ''

Bunka Shūreishū is the second imperially commissioned Japanese kanshi collection. The text was compiled by Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu, Sugawara no Kiyotomo, Nakao Ō, Isayama no Fumitugu, Shigeno no Sadanushi, and Kuwahara no Haraaka under the command of Emperor ...

'' and '' Ryōnogige''. He died on November 26, 842, at the age of 71 or 72.

Family

* Father: Sugawara no Furuhito * Mother: Unknown * Children: ** Third son: Sugawara no Yoshinushi (803-852) ** Fourth son:

(812-880) ** Son: Sugawara no Okiyoshi ** Son: Sugawara no Tadaomi ** Son: Sugawara no Zesan ** Daughter: Sugawara no Yasuko

References

*Papinot, Edmond (1910). Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sugawara no, Kiyotomo 770 births 842 deaths 9th-century Japanese poets Japanese courtiers Japanese expatriates in China Japanese politicians Kuge People of Heian-period Japan People of Nara-period Japan