Fujiwara no Yoritada

Who was Fujiwara no Yoritada?

Fujiwara no Yoritada, the second son of Saneyori, was a kugyo who served as regent for Emperor En'yū and Emperor Kazan. His mother was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tokihira. His elder brother from the same mother Atsutoshi died before their father's death.

In 977 he became Sadaijin, and when his cousin, the regent Fujiwara no Kanemichi was in a critical medical condition, he ceded the position of Kampaku to Yoritada, instead of his rival brother Kaneie.

Although Yoritada's two daughters were consorts of Emperor En'yū and Emperor Kazan, they did not have any sons. Yoritada thus had only a tenable blood relationship with the Emperors. His cousin Kaneie was the grandfather of Crown Prince Yasuhito, and he encouraged Emperor Kazan to abdicate a throne. By the accession of Emperor Ichijō, Yoritada retired from his post as Kampaku, and Kaneie became Sessho for his grandson Emperor Ichijō. Yoritada was Daijō Daijin from 978, and he is referred to as Rengi-kō.

His poet son Fujiwara no Kintō compiled the Shūi Wakashū, and also a collection of Chinese verse and prose and 25 Japanese poems in his Wakan Rōeishū, a widely-admired collection that helped spread the influence of Chinese culture in the Japanese Imperial court. Kintō's collection would be imitated by a successor, Fujiwara no Mototoshi's Shinsen Rōeishū. Kintō also wrote an influential critical guide to incorporating Bai Juyi's poetic techniques into Japanese poetry called Shinsen Zuinō.