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Fujiwara sekke politics in the Heian period

Type Event Region Japan Time 1041–1050

From roughly 1041 to 1050, Fujiwara sekke politics in mid-Heian entered a stable, highly institutionalized phase under kanpaku Fujiwara no Yorimichi,…

Timeline

  1. 1041–1044Heian-kyō imperial palace · KyotoFujiwara no Yorimichi, as kanpaku and chancellor, directed government under Emperor Go-Suzaku, consolidating the sekke's influence over the imperial succession through the appointment of a crown prince and maternal-kin marriages; real court power was concentrated in the Hokke of the Kujo line.
  2. 1045–1047Heian-kyō · KyotoEmperor Go-Reizei acceded in 1045, and Yorimichi continued to assist as kanpaku; the emperor was a grandson of Fujiwara no Shōshi, reproducing the sekke maternal-kin system in a new emperor, and non-Fujiwara could hardly reach the highest decision-making level.
  3. 1047–1050Uji (Byōdō-in) · Kyoto PrefectureYorimichi advanced the construction of Byōdō-in at Uji and expanded estate holdings, strengthening the sekke's finances through Buddhist patronage and land control; noble culture such as The Tale of Genji also gestated against the backdrop of the sekke's zenith, with political and cultural power highly overlapping.

Sources