Fujiwara no Yoshimi
Fujiwara no Yoshimi was a courtier of the early Heian period, who served as Udaijin for a time.
The son of Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu and Fujiwara no Mitsuko (herself the daughter of Fujiwara no Matsukuri), he climbed through various ranks and posts within the Heian government, being named Udaijin in 857.
He was involved in the 842 Jôwa Incident, and during the 866 Ôtemmon Incident, it is said he helped Ban Dainagon Tomo no Yoshio conspire to frame Sadaijin Minamoto no Makoto for the destruction of the Imperial Palace's Ôtemmon (Great Heavenly Gate). Yoshimi was not, in the end, attached to the crime or punished, but shortly after Ban Dainagon's exile, Yoshimi retired from government service.
Said to have been a very devoted man with strong faith, he is said to have done a lot of work to help children and families who could not support themselves, and to have taken in the sick. Following the death of his wife, a daughter of Sagami province official Ôe no Itsue, he never remarried; his own daughters, Fujiwara no Takakiko and Fujiwara no Tamiko served as court ladies in the courts of Emperors Montoku and Seiwa.
Fujiwara no Yoshimi's Kyoto mansion was discovered and archaeologically excavated beginning in 2011. Pottery fragments inscribed in ink, along with other materials, identified the site as being associated specifically with Yoshimi, making it the first courtier mansion discovered to be able to be identified to a specific courtier.
References
- "Fujiwara no Yoshimi." Asahi Nihon Rekishi Jinbutsu Jiten 朝日日本歴史人物事典. Asahi Shimbun-sha. Accessed via Kotobank.jp.
- "平安貴族の邸宅跡を初特定 藤原良相邸、優雅な庭園も." Asahi Shimbun. 8 December 2011.