Fujiwara Nobu - by Fujiwara Nobu

Japanese: 藤原信頼 - ふじわらののぶより

Year of death: Heiji 1.12.27 (1160.2.6)
Year of birth: 1133
A nobleman in the late Heian period. Son of Fujiwara Tadataka, a close aide to Emperor Toba and the daughter of Hamuro Akiyori. Ennobled in 1144, he served as the governor of Tosa and the governor of Musashi. In 1157, he was promoted to the rank of Middle Captain of the Konoe and Chief Chamberlain, and then to the rank of Junior Third Rank and Provincial Middle Counselor Uemon no Kami. After Emperor Nijō ascended to the throne in 1157, he was favored by Emperor Goshirakawa to the extent of being "a great leader," to borrow the words of the Gukansho, and rose to prominence as the emperor's deputy chief priest, and came into fierce conflict with Fujiwara Michinori (Shinzei), the powerful man of the time. Nobuyori wanted to become a general, but was prevented from doing so by Shinzei, which he deeply resented. After the Hogen Rebellion, he teamed up with Minamoto no Yoshitomo, who was dissatisfied with the difference in treatment between him and Taira no Kiyomori, and conspired with the anti-Shinzei forces close to Emperor Nijō to stage a coup d'état in December 1159 (the Heiji Rebellion). He murdered Shinzei, appointed himself Minister of State, and took real power in the Imperial Court, but a few days later he was defeated in a counterattack by Taira no Kiyomori and others, and was slain at Rokujo-gawara. At the beginning of "Heiji Monogatari" there is a famous passage that reads, "Neither in letters nor in martial arts. He had neither talent nor art, but was only proud of the kindness of the Emperor," and because of his fiery personality and temperament he was called "Akuemon no Kami," but it should be avoided to take this one-sided and harsh criticism at face value. That being said, he was poorly regarded by his contemporaries. However, it is also necessary to look at the role he played as a wealthy provincial governor, for example, during his time as Musashi no Kami, when he built a new main hall at Koryuji Temple. <References> Iida Yukiko, "The Hogen and Heiji Rebellions"

(Mamiko Kimura)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：平治1.12.27(1160.2.6)
生年：長承2(1133)
平安後期の公卿。鳥羽院近臣従三位藤原忠隆と葉室顕頼の娘の子。天養1(1144)年叙爵。土佐守,武蔵守を歴任。保元2(1157)年近衛中将,蔵人頭を経て,正三位権中納言右衛門督に至る。同3年の二条天皇践祚後は『愚管抄』の言葉をかりれば「アサマシキ程」の寵愛を後白河院より受け,院の別当として台頭し,時の権力者である藤原通憲(信西)と激しく対立した。信頼は大将の地位を望むが,信西によって阻止されたためこれを深く恨み,保元の乱後平清盛との処遇の差に不満を抱いていた源義朝と組み,さらに反信西勢力たる二条天皇側近らを語らって,平治1(1159)年12月クーデタを起こした(平治の乱)。信西を殺害し,自ら除目を行って大臣大将となり朝廷の実権を握ったが,数日後には平清盛らの反攻にあって敗れ,六条河原で斬殺された。『平治物語』冒頭には「文にもあらず武にもあらず。能もなく芸もなく,只朝恩にのみほこり」という有名な一節があり,またその激しい性格や気性から「悪右衛門督」と称せられているが,一面的一方的な酷評を鵜のみにするのは避けるべきであろう。とはいえ,同時代の評価は低い。しかし,例えば武蔵守時代に広隆寺本堂を新造するといった富裕な受領として果たした役割をみることも必要である。<参考文献>飯田悠紀子『保元・平治の乱』

(木村真美子)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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