Fujiwara no Nagara (藤原長良, 802 – 6 August 856), also known as Fujiwara no Nagayoshi, was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician of the early Heian period.[1] He was the grandfather of Emperor Yōzei.
Nagara was born as the eldest son of the sadaijinFujiwara no Fuyutsugu, a powerful figure in the court of Emperor Saga. He was also a descendant of the early Japanese emperors and was well trusted by Emperor Ninmyō since his time as crown prince, and attended on him frequently. However, after Ninmyō took the throne, Nagara's advancement was overtaken by his younger brother Fujiwara no Yoshifusa. He served as director of the kurōdo-dokoro (蔵人所) and division chief (督) in the imperial guard before finally making sangi and joining the kugyō in 844, ten years after his younger brother.
In 850, Nagara's nephew Emperor Montoku took the throne, and Nagara was promoted to shō shi-i no ge (正四位下) and then ju san-mi (従三位), and in 851 to shō san-mi (正三位). In the same year, though, Nagara was overtaken once more as his brother Fujiwara no Yoshimi, more than ten years his junior, was promoted to chūnagon. In 854, when Yoshimi was promoted to dainagon, Nagara was promoted to fill his old position of chūnagon. In 856 he was promoted to 従二位(ju ni-i), but died shortly thereafter at the age of 55.
After Nagara's death, his daughter Takaiko became a court lady of Emperor Seiwa. In 877, after her son Prince Sadaakira took the throne as Emperor Yōzei, Nagara was posthumously promoted to shō ichi-i (正一位) and sadaijin, and again in 879 to daijō-daijin.
Nagara was overtaken in life by his brother Yoshifusa and Yoshimi, but he had more children, and his descendants thrived. His third son Fujiwara no Mototsune was adopted by Yoshifusa, and his line branched into various powerful clans, including the five regent houses.
Before the Middle Ages, there may have been a tendency to view Mototsune's biological father Nagara rather than his adoptive father Yoshifusa as his parent, making Nagara out as the ancestor of the regent family. This may have impacted the Ōkagami, leading it to depict Nagara as the head of the Hokke instead of Yoshifusa.[2]
Nagara had a noble disposition, both tender-hearted and magnanimous. Despite being overtaken by his brothers, he continued to love them deeply. He was treated his subordinates with tolerance, and was loved by people of all ranks. When Emperor Ninmyō died, Fuyutsugu is said to have mourned him like a parent, even abstaining from food as he prayed for the happiness of the Emperor's spirit.
When he served Emperor Montoku in his youth, the Emperor treated him as an equal, but Nagara did not abandon formal dress or display an overly familiar attitude.[3]
^Kurihara, Hiromu (2008). "平安前期の養子" [Adoptions in the Early Heian Period]. 平安前期の家族と親族 [Family and Relatives During the Early Heian Period] (in Japanese). Azekura Shobo (校倉書房). ISBN978-4-7517-3940-2.Azekura Shobo (校倉書房Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text)&rft.date=2008&rft.isbn=978-4-7517-3940-2&rft.aulast=Kurihara&rft.aufirst=Hiromu&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Fujiwara no Nagara" class="Z3988">
Brinkley, Frank and Dairoku Kikuchi. (1915). A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era. New York: Encyclopædia Britannica. OCLC 413099
^ abcBrinkley, Frank and Dairoku Kikuchi. (1915). A History of the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era. New York: Encyclopædia Britannica. OCLC 413099
^ abcdeKanai, Madoka; Nitta, Hideharu; Yamagiwa, Joseph Koshimi (1966). A topical history of Japan. Sub-Committee on Far Eastern Language Instruction of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation. p. 6.
^ abBrown, Delmer M. (1988). The Cambridge History of Japan: Volume 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521223522.
^Nakagawa, Osamu (1991). "藤原良継の変" [The Rise of Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu]. 奈良朝政治史の研究 [Political History of the Nara Period] (in Japanese). Takashina Shoten (高科書店). (高科書店Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text)&rft.date=1991&rft.aulast=Nakagawa&rft.aufirst=Osamu&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Fujiwara no Nagara" class="Z3988">
^Kimoto, Yoshinobu (2004). "『牛屋大臣』藤原是公について" [On "Ushiya-Daijin" Fujiwara no Korekimi]. 奈良時代の藤原氏と諸氏族 [The Fujiwara Clan and Other Clans of the Nara Period] (in Japanese). Ohfu.
^Kurihara, Hiromu. 藤原内麿家族について [The Family of Fujiwara no Uchimaro]. Japanese History (日本歴史) (in Japanese) (511). (日本歴史Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text)&rft.atitle=藤原内麿家族について&rft.issue=511&rft.aulast=Kurihara&rft.aufirst=Hiromu&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Fujiwara no Nagara" class="Z3988">
^Kurihara, Hiromu (2008). "藤原冬嗣家族について" [Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu's Family]. 平安前期の家族と親族 [Family and Relatives During the Early Heian Period] (in Japanese). Azekura Shobo (校倉書房). ISBN978-4-7517-3940-2.Azekura Shobo (校倉書房Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text)&rft.date=2008&rft.isbn=978-4-7517-3940-2&rft.aulast=Kurihara&rft.aufirst=Hiromu&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Fujiwara no Nagara" class="Z3988">
^ ab 公卿補任 [Kugyō Bunin] (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). 1982.Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text)&rft.date=1982&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Fujiwara no Nagara" class="Z3988">
^Kitayama, Shigeo (1973). 日本の歴史4 平安京 [History of Japan IV: Heian-kyō] (in Japanese). Chūkō Bunko (中公文庫). p. 242.Chūkō Bunko (中公文庫Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text)&rft.date=1973&rft.aulast=Kitayama&rft.aufirst=Shigeo&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Fujiwara no Nagara" class="Z3988">
^ 日本古代氏族人名辞典(普及版) [Dictionary of Names from Ancient Japanese Clans (Trade Version)] (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). 2010. ISBN978-4-642-01458-8.Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text)&rft.date=2010&rft.isbn=978-4-642-01458-8&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Fujiwara no Nagara" class="Z3988">
^ abNobuyoshi, Yamamoto (2003). 摂関政治史論考 (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). ISBN978-4-642-02394-8.Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text)&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=978-4-642-02394-8&rft.aulast=Nobuyoshi&rft.aufirst=Yamamoto&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Fujiwara no Nagara" class="Z3988">
^Haruo, Sasayama (2003). "藤原兼通の政権獲得過程". 日本律令制の展開 (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). ISBN978-4-642-02393-1.Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text)&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=978-4-642-02393-1&rft.aulast=Haruo&rft.aufirst=Sasayama&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Fujiwara no Nagara" class="Z3988">
^Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
^ abPapinot, Edmond (1910). Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha.