Fujiwara no Mototsune
Japanese politician (836-891)
Fujiwara no Mototsune (藤原 基経; 836 – February 25, 891), also known as Horikawa Daijin (堀川大臣), was a Japanese statesman, courtier and aristocrat of the early Heian period. He was the first kampaku, a regent of an adult emperor, in Japanese history.
Biography
He was born the third son of Fujiwara no Nagara, but was adopted by his powerful uncle Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, who had no sons. Mototsune followed in Yoshifusa's footsteps, holding power in the court in the position of regent for four successive emperors.
Mototsune invented the position of kampaku regent for himself in order to remain in power even after an emperor reached maturity. This innovation allowed the Fujiwara clan to tighten its grip on power right throughout an emperor's reign.
Mototsune is referred to as Shōsen Kō (昭宣公) (posthumous name as Daijō Daijin).
Career
864 (Jōgan 6): Mototsune was named Sangi
866 (Jōgan 8): Chūnagon
870 (Jōgan 12, 1st month): He became Dainagon
872 (Jōgan 14): He was named Udaijin
876 (Jōgan 18): He was named Sesshō
880 (Gangyō 4): He was named Daijō Daijin
884 (Gangyō 8): Mototsune was the first to receive the title Kampaku.
890 (Kanpyō 2, 14th day of the 12th month): retire from Kampaku
February 25, 891 (Kampyō 3, 13th day of the 1st month): Mototsune died at the age of 56.
Genealogy
This member of the Fujiwara clan was the son of Fujiwara no Nagara, who was one of the brothers of Fujiwara no Yoshifusa.
The public source identifies “Fujiwara no Mototsune” as japanese politician (836-891). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Fujiwara, Mototsune and Japanese.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1397196. VIAF identifies the subject as 41775300. The Library of Congress control number is nr2002010357. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Fujiwara no Mototsune” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.