Fujiwara no Kamatari

Who was Fujiwara no Kamatari?

Fujiwara no Kamatari was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Asuka period. Kamatari was born to the Nakatomi clan and became the founder of the Fujiwara clan. 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, along with Prince Naka no Ōe, later Emperor Tenji, launched the Taika Reform of 645, which centralized and strengthened the central government. Just before his death he received the honorific of Taishōkan and the surname Fujiwara from the Emperor Tenji, thus establishing the Fujiwara clan.