Fujiwara no Mitsutaka (藤原光隆)

FUJIWARA no Mitsutaka (1127-September 6, 1201) was Kugyo (the top court officials) who lived from the end of the Heian period to the beginning of the Kamakura period. He was from the FUJIWARA no Toshimoto line of the Northern House of the Fujiwara clan. He was a descendant of FUJIWARA no Kanesuke who was Tsutsumi Chunagon (vice-councilor of state). He was the first son of FUJIWARA no Kiyotaka who was Gon Chunagon (a provisional vice-councilor of state), and his mother was FUJIWARA no Kashi with Junii (Junior Second Rank) who was the menoto (a woman providing breast-feed to a highborn baby) of the Emperor Konoe and was a daughter of FUJIWARA no Iemasa who was Sangi (councilor). His wives were the daughters of FUJIWARA no Sanekane (Taikotaigogu no suke (assistant master of the grand empress dowager's household)), FUJIWARA no Nobumichi, MINAMOTO no Moroyori, MINAMOTO no Tameyoshi and so on, and his children were FUJIWARA no Masataka, FUJIWARA no Ietaka (Junii) and so on. He used the name of Mibu or Nekoma Chunagon as his go (byname). He was a trusted vassal of the Emperor Goshirakawa. His official rank was Shonii (Senior Second Rank) Gon Chunagon.

In 1133 he got Joshaku (peerage). After that, he held positions such as Awaji no kami (the governor of Awaji Province), Aki no kami (governor of Aki Province), Izumo no kami (governor of Izumo Province), Tajima no kami (the governor of Tajima Province), Bitchu no kami (the governor of Bitchu Province), Kura no kami (Chief of Kuraryo, Bureau of Palace Storehouses), Jibukyo (Minister of the Ministry of Civil Administration), and Etchu no kami (Governor of Etchu Province). At the time of the Heiji War he was dismissed for being implicated with FUJIWARA no Nobuyori, but was soon forgiven and conferred to Jusanmi (Junior Third Rank) in 1160. In 1167 he was assigned to Gon Chunagon, but in the following year, 1168, he resigned. On June 20, 1198 he became a priest. On September 6, 1201 he died at the age of 75.

In the section of 'Nekoma' in the eighth volumes of "Heike Monogatari" (The tale of the Heike), there is an episode that Mitsutaka who visited MINAMOTO no Yoshinaka as a messenger of the Retired Emperor Goshirakawa in 1183, was taunted by Yoshinaka.

[Original Japanese]