Fujiwara no Kamatari (藤原 鎌足, 614 – November 14, 669), also known as Nakatomi no Kamatari (中臣 鎌足), was a Japanese politician and aristocrat who, together with Prince Naka no Ōe (later
Emperor Tenji), carried out the
Taika Reform. He was the founder of the
Fujiwara clan, the most powerful aristocratic family in
Japan during the
Nara and
Heian periods.[1] He, along with the
Mononobe clan, was a supporter of
Shinto and fought the introduction of
Buddhism to Japan. The
Soga clan, defenders of Buddhism in the
Asuka period, defeated Kamatari and the Mononobe clan, and Buddhism became the dominant religion of the
Imperial Court. Kamatari was appointed
Inner Minister,[2] and, along with Prince Naka no Ōe, later Emperor Tenji (626–672), launched the Taika Reform of 645, which centralized and strengthened the central government. Just before his death, he received the surname Fujiwara and the rank Taishōkan from Emperor Tenji, thus establishing the Fujiwara clan.[3][4]
Biography
Kamatari was born to the
Nakatomi clan, an aristocratic kin group[5] claiming descent from their ancestral god
Ame-no-Koyane.[6] He was the son of Nakatomi no Mikeko, and named Nakatomi no Kamatari (中臣 鎌足) at birth.[3] His early life and exploits are described in the 8th century clan history Tōshi Kaden (藤氏家伝).[7]
He was a friend and supporter of the Prince Naka no Ōe, later
Emperor Tenji. Kamatari was the head of the Jingi no Haku, or
Shinto ritualists; as such, he was one of the chief opponents of the increasing power and prevalence of
Buddhism in the court, and in the nation. As a result, in 645, Prince Naka no Ōe and Kamatari made
a coup d'état in the court. They slew
Soga no Iruka who had a strong influence over
Empress Kōgyoku; thereafter, Iruka's father,
Soga no Emishi, committed suicide.
Empress Kōgyoku was forced to abdicate in favor of her younger brother, who became
Emperor Kōtoku; Kōtoku then appointed Kamatari naidaijin (Inner Minister).
Kamatari was a leader in the development of what became known as the Taika Reforms, a major set of reforms based on Chinese models and aimed at strengthening Imperial power.[3] He acted as one of the principal editors responsible for the development of the Japanese legal code known as Sandai-kyaku-shiki, sometimes referred to as the Rules and Regulations of the Three Generations.[8]
During his life Kamatari continued to support Prince Naka no Ōe, who became Emperor Tenji in 661. Tenji granted him the highest rank Taishōkan (or Daishokukan) (大織冠) and a new clan name, Fujiwara (藤原), as honors.[3]
Legacy
Kamatari's son was
Fujiwara no Fuhito. Kamatari's nephew, Nakatomi no Omimaro became head of
Ise Shrine, and passed down the Nakatomi name.
Until the marriage of the Crown Prince
Hirohito (posthumously
Emperor Shōwa) to Princess Kuni Nagako (posthumously
Empress Kōjun) in January 1924, the principal consorts of emperors and crown princes had always been recruited from one of the
Sekke Fujiwara. Imperial princesses were often married to Fujiwara lords - throughout a millennium at least. As recently as Emperor Shōwa's third daughter, the late former Princess Takanomiya (Kazoku), and Prince Mikasa's elder daughter, the former Princess Yasuko, married into Takatsukasa and Konoe families, respectively.
Empress Shōken was a descendant of the Fujiwara clan and through
Hosokawa Gracia of the
Minamoto clan. Likewise a daughter of the
last Tokugawa Shōgun married a second cousin of Emperor Shōwa.
Abuyama Kofun, a
megalithic tomb in
Takatsuki and
Ibaraki,
Osaka has been identified as Fujiwara no Kamatari's tomb. The tomb and a
mummy buried inside a coffin were first discovered in 1934. 50 years later,
radiographic images and samples taken at the time were examined uncovering a mummy wrapped in gold thread.[9] The
kanmuri headwear found in the tomb indicates that the person buried was a noble of the highest rank Taishokkan.[10] It was concluded that it is highly likely that the tomb was dedicated to Kamatari. According to the analysis, the mummified person had a strong bone structure and an athletic body, with the so-called
pitcher's elbow. The cause of death was complications from injuries to the
vertebral column and
lumbar vertebrae sustained from a fall from horseback or a high ground. The injury is thought to have left the lower body paralyzed and caused secondary complications such as
pneumonia or
urinary tract infection.[9] The cause of death matches with that of Kamatari's, whom is recorded to have died from a fall from horseback.[10]
Higashinara site
In 2014, the
Ibaraki City Education Committee announced that ancient sen bricks discovered at
Higashinara site in Ibaraki,
Osaka match with the bricks found in Abuyama Kofun. The site is believed to have been the location of Mishima Betsugyō, a villa where Kamatari stayed before the
Isshi Incident which triggered the
Taika Reform (645).[11]
Family
Father: Nakatomi no Mikeko (中臣御食子)
Mother: Ōtomo no Chisen-no-iratsume (大伴智仙娘), daughter of Otomo no Kuiko (大伴囓子). Also known as "Ōtomo-bunin" (大伴夫人).
Main wife: Kagami no Ōkimi (鏡王女, ?-683)
Wife: Kurumamochi no Yoshiko-no-iratsume (車持与志古娘), daughter of Kurumamochi no Kuniko (車持国子).
1st son:
Jo'e [
ja] (定恵, 643–666), buddhist monk who traveled to China.
^"藤原 鎌足" [Fujiwara no Kamatari]. Dijitaru Daijisen (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012.
OCLC56431036. Archived from
the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
^Papinot, Edmond (2003). Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon, "Nakatomi," Nobiliare du Japon. Kelly & Walsh. p. 39.
OCLC465662682.
^"鎌足の隠居伝説を補強か 大阪の遺跡でゆかりの「れんが」" [Reinforcing the legend of Kamatari's retreat? "Bricks" associated with the Osaka ruins]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
Sources
Bauer, Mikael. The History of the Fujiwara House. Kent, UK: Renaissance Books, 2020.
ISBN1912961180.
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
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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
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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).
^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).
^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.
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ab 公卿補任 [Kugyō Bunin] (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan (吉川弘文館). 1982.
^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.
^ 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.