Reizei family (冷泉家, ''Reizei-ke'') is a Japanese ''

kuge The was a Japanese Aristocracy (class), aristocratic Social class, class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th ce ...

'' (court noble) family from

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. It is a 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 ...

, with a long

poetic Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

tradition.

History

The Reizei family descended from

Fujiwara no Michinaga was a Japanese statesman. The Fujiwara clan's control over Japan and its politics reached its zenith under his leadership. Early life Michinaga was born in Kyōto, the son of Kaneie. Kaneie had become Regent in 986, holding the position unt ...

through his sixth son, Nagaie (1005-1064); this line was known by the name of Mikohidari until Tamesuke took the name of Reizei. Nagaie's second son Tadaie (1033-1091) had a second son, Toshitada (1071-1123), whose fourth son Toshinari (also known as

Fujiwara no Shunzei was a Japanese poet, courtier, and Buddhist monk of the late Heian period. He was also and when younger (1123–67) as . He was noted for his innovations in the waka poetic form and compiling the '' Senzai Wakashū'' ("''Collection of a Thou ...

, 1114-1204) had a second son, Sadaie (also known as

Fujiwara no Teika was a Japanese anthologist, calligrapher, literary critic,"The high quality of poetic theory (''karon'') in this age depends chiefly upon the poetic writings of Fujiwara Shunzei and his son Teika. The other theorists of ''tanka'' writing, st ...

, 1162-1241), whose third son Tameie (1198-1275) was Reizei Tamesuke's father. The present (25th generation) head of the senior line of the family is Reizei Tamehito (born 1944). For eight centuries, the family secretly preserved, under imperial order, an important collection of documents. On April 4, 1980, this collection of about 200,000 pieces was made public by Reizei Tametou (1914-1986). The following year, a library in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

was created specially for their conservation. Not all of the documents have yet been identified, but some have already been classified as national treasures. The Reizei residence is located to the north side of

Kyoto Imperial Palace The is the former palace of the Emperor of Japan, located in Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. Since the Meiji Restoration in 1869, the Emperors have resided at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, while the preservation of the Kyoto Imperial Palace was ordered ...

, and is the last extant original court noble residence in Kyoto. It was registered as an Important Cultural Property.

Heads of the Reizei family

Reizei Tamesuke Reizei can refer to: *Emperor Reizei, emperor of Japan * Reizei family Reizei family (冷泉家, ''Reizei-ke'') is a Japanese ''kuge'' (court noble) family from Kyoto. It is a branch of the Fujiwara clan, with a long Japanese poetry, poetic tradit ...

(1263-1328) 2- Reizei Tamehide (d. 1372) 3- Reizei Tamemasa (1361-1417) 4- Reizei Tameyuki (1393-1439) 5- Reizei Tametomi 6- Reizei Tamehiro (1450-1526) 7- Reizei Tamekazu (1486-1549) 8- Reizei Tamemasu (1516-1570) 9- Reizei Tamemitsu (1559-1619) 10- Reizei Tameyori 11- Reizei Tameharu 12- Reizei Tamekiyo 13- Reizei Tametsuna 14- Reizei Tamehisa (1686-1741) 15- Reizei Tamemura (1712-1774) 16- Reizei Tameyasu 17- Reizei Tamefumi (1752-1822) 18- Reizei Tamenori 19- Reizei Tametake 20- Reizei Tametada (1824-1885) 21- Reizei Tamemoto (1854-1905) 22- Reizei Tametsugi (1881-1946) 23- Reizei Tameomi (d. 1944) 24- Reizei Tametou (1914-1986) 25- Reizei Tamehito (1944-)

References

* Louis Frédéric, '' Le Japon, dictionnaire et civilisation'', Paris: Robert Laffont, coll. «Bouquins», 1996. *{{in lang, en}
JSTOR article
* Steven D. Carter, ''Householders: The Reizei Family in Japanese History'' (Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2007) (Harvard-Yenching Institute monograph series, 61). * Takie Sugiyama Lebra, ''Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility'' (University of California Press, 1993)

External links

* https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/corekyoto/20210218/2029149/ Fujiwara clan Japanese families