Fujiwara no Morozane

Who They Were

Fujiwara no Morozane (藤原師実, ふじわらの もろざね) was a regent and the head of the Fujiwara clan during the late Heian period, the era of Japanese history running from 794 to 1185. He was born in 1042 and died on 14 March 1101. He held the office of Daijō-daijin (太政大臣, だいじょうだいじん), the highest position in the imperial government's Council of State, and served as sesshō and kampaku — regent to an emperor — for a span of roughly twenty years. He was known by the honorific names Kyōgoku dono (京極殿, きょうごくどの, "Lord Kyōgoku") and Go-Uji dono (後宇治殿, ごうじどの, "the Later Lord Uji"). He was a son of Fujiwara no Yorimichi and Fujiwara no Giko, which made him a grandson of the great Fujiwara no Michinaga.

Life and Career

Morozane was born in 1042, in the third year of the Chōkyū era (長久, ちょうきゅう). His father was Fujiwara no Yorimichi, the dominant courtier of the previous generation, and his mother was Fujiwara no Giko. A contemporary document suggests he was the third-born son, though this is not certain. Through his father he was a grandson of Fujiwara no Michinaga, the statesman who had brought the Fujiwara clan to the height of its power.

He rose to the position of sadaijin (左大臣, さだいじん, "Minister of the Left"), one of the two senior ministers of state, and then to the regency itself. He served as sesshō (摂政, せっしょう, regent for a child emperor) from 1075 to 1086, during the reign of Emperor Shirakawa, and again from 1094 to 1099, during the reign of Emperor Horikawa. Between those two terms he served as kampaku (関白, かんぱく, regent for an adult emperor) from 1086 to 1094, also under Emperor Horikawa. He was appointed Daijō-daijin as well.

Morozane's political position was weaker than that of his father and grandfather. Emperor Shirakawa seized political power directly, and Morozane could not enjoy the monopoly on authority that earlier Fujiwara regents had held. Even after Emperor Horikawa reached adulthood, the retired Emperor Shirakawa continued to hold power.

Morozane made his adopted daughter Kenshi a consort of Emperor Shirakawa. Kenshi died very young, but she left a son who later ascended the throne as Emperor Horikawa. Morozane married Fujiwara no Reishi, a daughter of Minamoto no Morofusa — himself a grandson of Emperor Murakami — who was later adopted by Fujiwara no Nobuie. He had many sons and daughters, among them Fujiwara no Moromichi and Fujiwara no Ietada.

Why They Matter

Morozane stands at the point where Fujiwara regental dominance began to give way to rule by retired emperors. His grandfather Michinaga had governed through the regency; Morozane held the same titles but watched Emperor Shirakawa take real authority into his own hands. The shift is visible in the sequence of his own appointments: he served as sesshō, then kampaku, then sesshō again, while Shirakawa ruled from behind the scenes.

His family line outlasted his political power. Two kuge families — the court nobility — descend from him: the Kazanin family and the Oimikado (Oinomikado) family. He was also a literary figure, credited as the author of the waka collection Kyōgoku Kanpakushū (京極関白集, "Anthology of the Kyōgoku Kanpaku") and of a diary, the Kyōgoku Kanpaku-ki (京極関白記, "Diary of the Kyōgoku Kanpaku").

The Name in Japanese

The name is written 藤原師実 and read ふじわらの もろざね (Fujiwara no Morozane).

藤 — read here as ふじ (fuji). It is the character for wisteria, the climbing plant. The Fujiwara clan took its name from a place called Fujiwara, and the wisteria became the family's emblem.

原 — read here as はら, which combines with the preceding character to give ふじわら (Fujiwara). It means "field," "plain," or "meadow." Together, 藤原 literally suggests a wisteria field.

の — the possessive particle, written in kana rather than kanji. In names of this period it links the clan name to the personal name, roughly "of the Fujiwara."

師 — read here as もろ (moro). It means "teacher," "master," or "model." It is a common element in male names of the Heian aristocracy.

実 — read here as ざね (zane). It means "fruit," "seed," "substance," or "reality." In Heian naming practice, ざね was a frequent ending for a nobleman's personal name.

The element もろ recurs across the family: Morozane's father was Yorimichi, his son was Moromichi, and the syllable ties several generations together. The honorific name Kyōgoku (京極) refers to a Kyoto location associated with him, and Go-Uji (後宇治) means "the Later Uji," distinguishing him from an earlier holder of the Uji name.

Legacy

Morozane died on 14 March 1101. His descendants split into the Kazanin and Oimikado families, both of which remained part of the court nobility. His son Fujiwara no Moromichi followed him into the highest offices of the state. The waka anthology and diary attributed to him preserve the literary side of a career spent largely in the shadow of Emperor Shirakawa's personal rule.