Yasunori Fujiwara

Japanese: 藤原保則 - ふじわらのやすのり

Year of death: April 21, 7th year of Kanpei (May 19, 895)
Year of birth: Tencho 2 (825)
An official in the early Heian period. Son of Sadao and Abe no Otomi (the current emperor). He served as governor of various provinces, including Bitchu, Bizen, Harima, and Sanuki, and was a typical example of a good official who gained a reputation for benevolent governance. His virtue is recorded in the Fujiwara no Yasunori Biography, written by Miyoshi Kiyoyuki in 907, 12 years after his death. There are stories of how, during his time in Bitchu and Bizen, he was loved and called "father and mother," how a thief from Bingo was so impressed by his benevolent governance that he turned himself in to Yasunori, and how, when he returned to Kyoto after completing his duties, an endless stream of villagers came to see him, wanting to see him go, so he left secretly in a small boat. In 878, when the Emishi of Dewa (Akita and Yamagata prefectures) rebelled (the Gangyo Rebellion), Yasunori, who had no military experience, was appointed as Governor of Dewa Province, due to his administrative skills. When asked about his administration policy, Yasunori replied that it was essential to subjugate the people through benevolence, and only when this was not quelled should military force be used. He was also a man of political philosophy. Yasunori's appeasement tactics were successful, and the Emishi rebellion, which had continued since the Nara period, was finally quelled. In 892, he became a councilor. In his later years, he converted to Buddhism, selected commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Sutra, and became a Buddhist monk by ditching his head at Mount Hiei.

(Takinami Sadako)

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

Japanese:

没年：寛平7.4.21(895.5.19)
生年：天長2(825)
平安前期の官人。貞雄と安倍弟富(当とも)の子。備中,備前,播磨,讃岐などの諸国司を歴任し,仁政を行ったことで名声を得た良吏の典型。その徳行は没後12年の延喜7(907)年,三善清行の手になる『藤原保則伝』によって伝えられるが,備中,備前時代,「父母」と呼ばれて慕われたことや,その仁政を聞いて感服した備後の盗賊が保則の前に自首してきたこと,あるいは任を終えて帰京の折,名残を惜しむ村人らが際限なくやってくるので小船でひそかに出立したといった逸話を残す。元慶2(878)年,出羽(秋田,山形県)の蝦夷が反乱を起こしたとき(元慶の乱),軍事経験のない保則が出羽権守として起用されたのも行政手腕が評価されたもので,施政の方針を聞かれた保則は,仁政をもって帰服させることが肝要で,なお鎮まらないときはじめて兵威をもって臨むべきである,と答えるなど,政治哲学の持ち主でもあった。保則の懐柔策は功を奏し,ここに至って奈良期以来続いた蝦夷の反乱はようやく鎮まった。寛平4(892)年参議となった。晩年は仏教に帰依して般若経の義疏を選集,比叡山で落髪入道した。

(瀧浪貞子)

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

<<: Fujiwara no Yasuhira

>>: Fujiwara no Michimichi - The path of Mt. Fujiwara