was a Japanese noble 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 ...

and 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 Japanese ...

. He was the third son of the ''

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 ...

Fujiwara no Matate was a Japanese court noble and statesman of the Nara period. He was the third son of the founder of the Hokke House of the Fujiwara clan, the '' sangi'' Fujiwara no Fusasaki. He achieved the court rank of Senior Third Rank and the position o ...

and thus a member of the Hokke. He reached the court rank of and the position of ''

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 posthumously of and ''

daijō-daijin The was the head of the ''Daijō-kan'' (Great Council of State) during and after the Nara period and briefly under the Meiji Constitution. Equivalent to the Chinese (Grand Preceptor). History Emperor Tenji's favorite son, Prince Ōtomo, wa ...

''. He was also known as . He served the emperors Kanmu, Heizei, and Saga, and was trusted and valued by each. He succeeded his uncle Nagate and his line as the head of the family. Unlike his father, whose secondary status in the family had prevented him from making ''daijin'', Uchimaro rose to ''udaijin'', and led the cabinet in Heizei's reign and the beginning of Saga's. He had many children, helping to lay the foundation for the later success of the Hokke.

Life

On the ascension of

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...

in 781, Uchimaro was promoted from to . He was consecutively promoted in 785, 786, and 787, culminating in the rank of . This came shortly after Uchimaro's first wife, Kudara no Nagatsugu, who had since become a court lady, bore the emperor a prince (). It has been theorized that this birth precipitated Uchimaro's rapid promotion, and even that he used Nagatsugu as collateral to deepen his relationship with the Emperor. During this period, he held various positions in the imperial guard and as a provincial governor. Later, Uchimaro held head directoral positions in a division of the imperial guard, the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

, and the , a body governing the finances of the imperial household. In 794, immediately after the move of the capital to Heian-kyō, Uchimaro joined the '' kugyō'' with a promotion to '' sangi''. At the age of 39, this made him the second youngest member of the cabinet after the 34-year-old of the Nanke. However, in the next few years, four high-ranking cabinet officials, including ''

Fujiwara no Tsuginawa , also known as Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Monozomo no Udajin, was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Nara period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Tsuginawa" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1915). Career I ...

and ''

'' Ki no Kosami, died or retired, and in 798, Uchimaro was promoted to and ''

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 ...

''. He also obtained various other positions during this period, including general of the imperial guard. In 799 he was put in charge of the continued relocation to the capital. During the dispute between

Fujiwara no Otsugu was a Japanese statesman, courtier, politician and editor during the Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Otsugu" in . He is credited as one of the collaborative compilers of the ''Nihon Kōki''.Nussbaum, "Nihon Kōki" ...

and

Sugano no Mamichi , originally known as , was a Japanese noble of the early Heian period. He reached the Ritsuryō#Establishment of court rank, court rank of and the position of ''Sangi (Japan), sangi''. Life In 778, Mamichi was appointed as an in the Ministr ...

(), in which Otsugu persuaded the Emperor to suspend his campaign in

Ezo (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...

and the construction of Heian-kyō, Uchimaro waited on Kanmu by his side. When

Emperor Heizei , also known as ''Heijō-tennō'', was the 51st emperor of Japan, Emperor Heizei, Yamamomo Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Heizei's reign lasted from 806 to 809. Traditional narr ...

ascended to the throne in 806, Uchimaro was promoted to ''

''. When died a month later, Uchimaro took over as head of the cabinet with a promotion to and ''

''. In 809, he was promoted to . He emerged unscathed from the attempted coup of Prince Iyo and the Kusuko Incident. Uchimaro died on November 13, 812, at the age of 57. He was posthumously promoted to and '' sadaijin'', and days later again to ''

''.

Personality

According to the

Nihon Kōki is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 840, it is the third volume in the Six National Histories. It covers the years 792–833. Background Following the earlier national history ''Shoku Nihongi'' (797), in 819 Empero ...

, Uchimaro was mild-mannered and very popular, and people were happy to follow him. The emperors he served trusted him deeply, and while he did not flatter them, he did not remonstrate them when they disagreed. He served in important government positions for more than ten years without committing any blunders. He was noted to have an exceptionally ready wit. Uchimaro commissioned statues of the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ...

and a version of

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She w ...

and let his son Fuyutsugu offer them to

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...

. An anecdote in the Nihon Kōki states that when Prince Osabe was crown prince, he bore ill will toward Uchimaro and tried to injure him. There was a horse with a habit of kicking and biting, and the prince had Uchimaro mount this horse, but the horse kept its head down and did not try to move, and even when they whipped it, it simply turned around once.

Genealogy

*Father:

*Mother: daughter of *Wife: , daughter of , later a court lady of

**Son: **Son: *Wife: , second daughter of

Sakanoue no Karitamaro was a samurai commander, and later '' chinjufu-shōgun'' (Commander-in-chief of the defense of the North), during Japan's Nara period. Karitomo's father was Sakanoue no Inukai. In 764, Karitamaro aided in the repression of a revolt by Fujiwa ...

**Son: **Son: **Son: **Son: Sakanoue Family Genealogy in the

Gunsho Ruijū is a collection of list of Japanese classical texts, old Japanese books on Japanese literature and history of Japan, history assembled by Hanawa Hokiichi (塙保己一) with the support of the Bakufu. It has several sections separated in genre's ...

**Daughter: *Wife: daughter of **Son: *Wife: daughter of

Fujiwara no Nagate was a Japanese court noble and statesman of the Nara period. He was the second son of the founder of the Hokke House of the Fujiwara clan, the '' sangi'' Fujiwara no Fusasaki. He achieved the court rank of Senior First Rank and the position o ...

**Son: *Wife: (unknown) **Son: **Son: **Son: **Son: **Son: **Daughter: , wife of

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 ...

**Daughter: Wife of

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujiwara no, Uchimaro Fujiwara clan 756 births 812 deaths People of Nara-period Japan