Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo

Who was Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo?

Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo was a member of the martial Hidesato branch of the Fujiwaras and was the father of Fujiwara no Kiyohira, founder of the Northern Fujiwara dynasty in Japan. From the Japanese viewpoint he was considered a notorious traitor.

He is said to have come from the Watari District in what is now southern Miyagi Prefecture. He served for a time as a military bureaucrat at Fort Taga in modern day Tagajō, Miyagi Prefecture.

Tsunekiyo married a daughter of Abe no Yoritoki, leader of the Emishi who ruled the Kitakami basin in what is now Iwate Prefecture and moved to Iwayadō Castle. When the Zenkunen War broke out he fought with the Abes against the Central government forces led by the governor of Mutsu Province, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi. For this he was branded a traitor. After the Abe were defeated in 1062, Tsunekiyo was beheaded with a blunt sword by Yoriyoshi personally.