Nakatomi no Kamatari

Fujiwara no Kamatari (藤原 鎌足; Japanese pronunciation:, 614 – November 14, 669), also known as Nakatomi no Kamatari (中臣 鎌足), was a Japanese politician and aristocrat who, together with Prince Naka no Ōe (later Emperor Tenji), carried out the Taika Reform. He was the founder of the Fujiwara clan, the most powerful aristocratic family in Japan during the Nara and Heian periods. Before his birth, the Soga clan, defenders of Buddhism in the Asuka period, defeated the Mononobe clan and the Nakatomi clan, and Buddhism became the dominant religion of the Imperial Court. Kamatari was appointed Inner Minister, and, along with Prince Naka no Ōe, later Emperor Tenji (626–672), launched the Taika Reform of 645, which centralized and strengthened the central government. Just before his death, he received the surname Fujiwara and the rank Taishokan from Emperor Tenji, thus establishing the Fujiwara clan.