Fujiwara no Motohira - Fujiwara no Motohira

Japanese: 藤原基衡 - ふじわらのもとひら

Year of death: 1157
Year of birth: Unknown. Military commander in the late Heian period. Second head of the Oshu Fujiwara clan. His father was Fujiwara no Kiyohira. He was the governor of Mutsu and Dewa. It is said that he fought against his younger brother Koretsune in 1129, shortly after his father's death, but there are also historical documents that say that around the same time, his younger brother's heir attacked and killed his older brother's small mansion. If the latter is correct, the heir was Motohira, who killed his older brother and became the second head of the clan. He was the local administrator of the manors of the Fujiwara clan, the regents in both Mutsu and Dewa provinces, and for five years from 1149, he fought with the left minister Fujiwara no Yorinaga over the amount of annual tax. He founded Motsu-ji Temple in Hiraizumi, modeled after Hossho-ji Temple in Kyoto. Near Motsu-ji Temple, there are plots of land in the same direction as the layout of the temple buildings, and it seems that the city of Hiraizumi began to be developed around Motohira's time. His body is enshrined in the Golden Hall of Chusonji Temple. He was over 165cm tall, making him the largest of the three generations. He had hunched shoulders and was obese. Observation of the body suggests that he was between 50 and 60 years old, making him the youngest of the three generations to die. It is believed that he died suddenly from an illness such as cerebral hemorrhage. His blood type was A. <References> "Chusonji and the Four Generations of the Fujiwara Clan" edited by Asahi Shimbun Company, "The Four Generations of the Oshu Fujiwara Clan" by Takahashi Tomio

(Naomasa Oishi)

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

Japanese:

没年：保元2頃(1157)
生年：生年不詳
平安末期の武将。奥州藤原氏の2代。父は藤原清衡。陸奥・出羽押領使。父の死の直後の大治4(1129)年に弟の惟常と戦ったというが,別に,同じころに弟の御曹子というものが兄の小館を攻め殺したという史料もある。後者が正しいとすれば,御曹子というのが基衡のことで,彼は兄を殺して2代目にすわったことになる。陸奥・出羽両国にある摂関家藤原氏の荘園の現地管理者であり,久安5(1149)年から5年間にわたって,左大臣藤原頼長とその年貢の額をめぐる争いを行っている。京都の法勝寺などをモデルとして,平泉に毛越寺を創建した。毛越寺の付近には,その伽藍配置と同じ方向の地割りが見られ,都市平泉は基衡のころに整備されはじめたようである。遺体は中尊寺の金色堂に安置されている。身長165cm以上。3代の中ではもっとも巨漢である。いかり肩で肥満体であった。遺体の観察による年齢は50ないし60歳といわれ,3代の中ではもっとも若死にである。脳溢血のような病気によって急死したものと推定されている。血液型はA型。<参考文献>朝日新聞社編『中尊寺と藤原四代』,高橋富雄『奥州藤原氏四代』

(大石直正)

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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