Fujiwara Yasumasa - The Rest of Fujiwara

Japanese: 藤原保昌 - ふじわらのやすまさ

Year of death: 9th year of the Chogen period (1036)
Year of birth: Tentoku 2 (958)
A mid-ranking aristocrat in the mid-Heian period. Lower Fourth Rank. Son of Ukyo no Tadatada and the daughter of Prince Motoakira. Also known as Hirai Yasumasa, as he lived in Hirai, Settsu Province (Takarazuka City). He served as the governor of Hizen (Saga Prefecture, part of Nagasaki Prefecture), Yamato (Nara Prefecture), Settsu, and other areas, and was also the right horse chief. He excelled in military prowess and was named one of the Four Heavenly Kings along with Minamoto no Yorinobu, Taira no Korehira, and Taira no Tadayori. There is a famous story about how Yasumasa was walking leisurely down the main street playing a flute, but when a thief called Hakamadari Yasusuke tried to steal his clothes, he was overwhelmed by his flawlessness, and was taken to his house and given the clothes. He became the governor of Tango, and went down to his province with his wife Izumi Shikibu (Shikibu remarried). He also enjoyed waka poetry and music. Mount Hosho, which appears in the Gion Festival procession, is based on an anecdote about Yasumasa being humiliated in love.

(Oboriya Hisashi)

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

Japanese:

没年：長元9.9(1036)
生年：天徳2(958)
平安中期の中級貴族。正四位下。右京大夫致忠と元明親王の娘の子。摂津国平井(宝塚市)に住んだので平井保昌ともいう。肥前(佐賀県,長崎県の一部),大和(奈良県),摂津などの国守を歴任し,右馬頭にもなった。武勇にすぐれ,源頼信,平維衡,平致頼と共に四天王に挙げられた。笛を吹きながら悠然と大路を歩く保昌の衣を奪おうとした盗賊の袴垂保輔が隙のなさに圧倒され,家まで連れていかれて衣を賜ったという話は有名。丹後守となり,妻和泉式部(式部は再婚)を伴って任国に下った。和歌や音楽もたしなんだ。祇園祭の巡行に登場する保昌山は恋で恥をかいた保昌の逸話によったものである。

(朧谷寿)

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