The was a cadet branch of the

Fujiwara clan The 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 ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

of Japan.

History

It was founded by

Fujiwara no Muchimaro was a Japanese courtier (''kuge'') and politician of the late Asuka and early Nara period. He founded the Nanke ("Southern") branch of the Fujiwara clan.'' MyPedia'' entry for "Fujiwara no Muchimaro His court rank is Senior First Rank. Life ...

. Muchimaro had three brothers: Fusasaki,

Maro Maro may refer to: People * Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro; 70 BC–19 BC), ancient Roman poet * Maro (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname Maro * Mark Rosewater (born 1967), American television writer and ''Magic: Th ...

and Umakai. These four brothers are known for having established the "four houses" of the Fujiwara. The

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''Nan-ke'' ("southern house") comes from the fact that Muchimaro's mansion was located south of the mansion of his younger brother. The Nanke served in the imperial court, but many of Fujiwara no Tamenori's descendants later became

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

families such as Itō,

Nikaidō is the name of one of the administrative units ("towns", chō or machi) of Kamakura, a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo. Nikaidō lies immediately to the east of Nishi Mikado and Yukinoshita, and used t ...

, Sagara and Kudō.

Nara period

The founder of Fujiwara Nanke, Fujiwara no Muchimaro, was the eldest son of

Fujiwara no Fuhito Fujiwara no Fuhito (藤原不比等: 659 – 13 September 720) was a powerful member of the imperial court of Japan during the Asuka and Nara periods. Second son of Fujiwara no Kamatari (or, according to one theory, of Emperor Tenji), he ...

. Shortly after the beginning of

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 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 capita ...

, Muchimaro became the head of Ministry of Civil Services in 718. When Fuhito died in 720,

Prince Nagaya Nagaya ( ') (684 – 20 March 729) was a politician of the Nara period and an imperial prince of Japan, a son of Prince Takechi (grandson of Emperor Tenmu). His father was Prince Takechi and his mother Princess Minabe (a daughter of Emperor ...

was at the highest rank in the state government. Prince Nagaya was grandson of

Emperor Tenmu was the 40th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. He ascended ...

, but not a son of Fujiwara family, he was therefore seen as a threat by Muchimaro and his three brothers. After successfully removing Prince Nagaya in 729, Muchimaro rose to ''

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 ...

'', "Counselor of the first rank". In 734, he was promoted to ''

Udaijin was a government position in Japan during the Asuka to Meiji era. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 701. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Udaijin'' in the context of a central administrat ...

'' or "Minister of the Right", and in 737, he was made ''

Sadaijin The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan during the Asuka to Meiji era. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Sadaijin'' in the context of a cent ...

'' or "Minister of the Left". Nanke further prospered in the Nara period as Nakamaro, the second son of Muchimaro, gained the trust of

Empress Kōken Empress Kōken (born Abe, known as Empress Shōtoku during her second reign; 718–770) was the 46th and 48th monarch of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. She was born to Crown Prince Obito (the future Emperor Shōmu) and ...

and was given the name ''Emi no Oshikatsu.''

Tachibana no Naramaro was a Japanese aristocrat (''kuge''), courtier, and statesman of the Nara period. He was the son of ''sadaijin'' Tachibana no Moroe and the second head of the Tachibana clan (kuge), Tachibana clan. He attained the Ritsuryō#Establishment of court ...

, who was unhappy about Nakamaro's monopolization of power, plotted a conspiracy to replace Nakamaro and to overthrow the Empress, but Nakamaro settled the rebellion and established

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

. However, Nakamaro was killed during

Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion The , also known as the Emi Rebellion, was a short-lived and unsuccessful Nara period military confrontation in Japan resulting from a power struggle between former Empress Kōken and the main political figure of the time, Fujiwara no Nakamaro fr ...

after he attempted to overthrow the

imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

and become the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, after which

Fujiwara Hok-ke The was cadet branch of the Fujiwara clan of Japan. The other three were the Fujiwara Nan-ke, Fujiwara Kyō-ke and Fujiwara Shiki-ke. The Hok-ke branch issued the ''de facto'' rulers of Japan through their hereditary position as imperial regent ...

replaced the Nan-ke as the leading house of Fujiwara.

Notable members

Fujiwara no Nakamaro , also known as , Brown, Delmer M. (1979). ''Gukanshō,'' p. 274 was a Japanese aristocrat (''kuge''), courtier, and statesman. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Fujiwara no Nakamaro"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 207. He was chancellor ('' Daij ...

Fujiwara no Suenori Fujiwara no Suenori (藤原季範, 1090 – December 27, 1155) was a Japanese nobleman and High Priest of Atsuta Shrine during the late Heian period. He was the grandfather of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura ...

Fujiwara no Toshiyuki Fujiwara no Toshiyuki (birthdate unknown – 901 or 907, Japanese: 藤原敏行, also 藤原敏行朝臣 ''Fujiwara Toshiyuki no Ason'') was a middle Heian '' waka'' poet and Japanese nobleman. He was designated a member of the Thirty-six P ...

* Ukon * Fujiwara no Michinori

Family tree

Notes

References

* Brinkley, Frank and

Dairoku Kikuchi Baron was a Japanese mathematician, educator, and education administrator during the Meiji era. After earning degrees in mathematics and physics from St John's College at the University of Cambridge, he became one of the first Japanese profe ...