Fujiwara no Uchimaro (藤原内麻呂; 756 – November 13, 812) was a Japanese noble of theNara period and earlyHeian period. He was the third son of thedainagonFujiwara no Matate and thus a member of theHokke. He reached thecourt rank ofju ni-i (従二位) and the position ofudaijin, and posthumously ofju ichi-i (従一位) anddaijō-daijin. He was also known asGo-Nagaoka-Daijin (後長岡大臣).
He served the emperorsKanmu,Heizei, andSaga, and was trusted and valued by each. He succeeded his uncle Nagate and his line as the head of the family. Unlike his father, whose secondary status in the family had prevented him from makingdaijin, Uchimaro rose toudaijin, and led the cabinet in Heizei's reign and the beginning of Saga's. He had many children, helping to lay the foundation for the later success of the Hokke.
On the ascension ofEmperor Kanmu in 781, Uchimaro was promoted fromshō roku-i no jō (正六位上) toju go-i no ge (従五位下). He was consecutively promoted in 785, 786, and 787, culminating in the rank ofju shi-i no ge (従四位下). This came shortly after Uchimaro's first wife, Kudara no Nagatsugu, who had since become a court lady, bore the emperor a prince (Yoshimine no Yasuyo [ja] (良岑安世)). It has been theorized that this birth precipitated Uchimaro's rapid promotion, and even that he used Nagatsugu as collateral to deepen his relationship with the Emperor.[1] During this period, he held various positions in the imperial guard and as a provincial governor.
Later, Uchimaro held head directoral positions in a division of the imperial guard, theMinistry of Justice, and thekuraryō (内蔵寮), a body governing the finances of the imperial household. In 794, immediately after the move of the capital toHeian-kyō, Uchimaro joined thekugyō with a promotion tosangi. At the age of 39, this made him the second youngest member of the cabinet after the 34-year-old Fujiwara no Takatoshi (藤原乙叡) of theNanke. However, in the next few years, four high-ranking cabinet officials, includingudaijinFujiwara no Tsuginawa anddainagonKi no Kosami, died or retired, and in 798, Uchimaro was promoted toju san-mi (従三位) andchūnagon. He also obtained various other positions during this period, including general of the imperial guard. In 799 he was put in charge of the continued relocation to the capital. During the dispute betweenFujiwara no Otsugu andSugano no Mamichi (tokusei-ronsō (徳政論争)), in which Otsugu persuaded the Emperor to suspend his campaign inEzo and the construction of Heian-kyō, Uchimaro waited on Kanmu by his side.
WhenEmperor Heizei ascended to the throne in 806, Uchimaro was promoted todainagon. WhenPrince Miwa (神王) died a month later, Uchimaro took over as head of the cabinet with a promotion toshō san-mi (正三位) andudaijin. In 809, he was promoted toju ni-i (従二位). He emerged unscathed from the attempted coup of Prince Iyo and theKusuko Incident.
Uchimaro died on November 13, 812, at the age of 57. He was posthumously promoted toju ichi-i (従一位) andsadaijin, and days later again todaijō-daijin.
According to theNihon Kōki, Uchimaro was mild-mannered and very popular, and people were happy to follow him. The emperors he served trusted him deeply, and while he did not flatter them, he did not remonstrate them when they disagreed. He served in important government positions for more than ten years without committing any blunders. He was noted to have an exceptionally ready wit.
An anecdote in the Nihon Kōki states that whenPrince Osabe was crown prince, he bore ill will toward Uchimaro and tried to injure him. There was a horse with a habit of kicking and biting, and the prince had Uchimaro mount this horse, but the horse kept its head down and did not try to move, and even when they whipped it, it simply turned around once.
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