Minamoto no Moromitsu (源師光)
MINAMOTO no Moromitsu
Seiwa-Genji (Minamoto clan) and the lineage of MINAMOTO no Yorimitsu, the son of "MINAMOTO no Yorikuni"
Murakami-Genji (Minamoto clan) and the lineage of MINAMOTO no Toshifusa, the son of MINAMOTO no Moroyori
MINAMOTO no Moromitsu (Seiwa-Genji)
MINAMOTO no Moromitsu, whose time of birth and death are unknown, was a medium-ranking Court noble and a maker of Japanese poetry in the later Heian period. His real given name was Kuninaka. For some time, Kuniyasu was used as his given name. He was the eighth son of MINAMOTO no Yorikuni, and her mother was the daughter of FUJIWARA no Nakakiyo who was Owari no kuni no kami (the governor of Owari Province). Moromitsu was a younger real brother of MINAMOTO no Yoritsuna. He had some sons, including MINAMOTO no Sanetaka and MINAMOTO no Mitsutaka. MINAMOTO no Moromitsu is also called FUKUSHIMA no Moromitsu.
He held various positions, such as Shonaiki (Junior Private Secretary), Tonomo gon no suke (Provisional Assistant Director of the Bureau of Palace Equipment), Kurodo (Chamberlain) and Emonfu (Headquarters of the Outer Palace Guards). In his later years, he served as Sagami no kuni no kami (the governor of Sagami Province) and then he served as Shinano no kuni no kami (the governor of Shinano Province), and in the end, his Court rank reached Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade). He was good at "waka" (Japanese poetry) and "kanshi" (Chinese poetry), so he attended some gatherings of kanshi, such as the kanshi composition party at Shichijo's residence in 1061 and the kanshi party on October 30, 1063. And he also made some waka in the private Japanese poetry party at Imperial Palace in 1075 held by Emperor Shirakawa for the emperor himself and its entourage only. "Goshui Wakashu" (Later Collection of Gleanings of Japanese Poetry) and "Kinyo Wakashu" (Kinyo Collection of Japanese Poetry) both has one poem of his in its collection. And especially, the waka in Kinyo Wakashu (the poem number 537) appealed his grudge to FUJIWARA no Kinzane about not being invited to the Japanese poetry contest at the residence of FUJIWARA no Yorimichi, and this waka suggests his pride as a maker of Japanese poetry.
In later periods, the descendants of his third son Mitsutaka existed as the Fukushima clan.
MINAMOTO no Moromitsu (Murakami-Genji)
MINAMOTO no Moromitsu, whose birth and death year is unknown, was a Court noble and a maker of Japanese poetry living from the later Heian period to the Kamakura period. His pseudonym was Ononomiya. His Buddhist name after becoming a priest was Shoren. He was the grandson of MINAMOTO no Toshifusa. His father was MINAMOTO no Moroyori who reached the Court rank of Dainagon (Major Counselor). His mother was the daughter of FUJIWARA no Yoshizane who reached the rank of Dainagon. He had some sons, such as MINAMOTO no Tomochika, MINAMOTO no Toshinobu, Jinkei, Chokaku and Gotoba in no kunaikyo.
The Court rank and title of Moromitsu was, even at his peak, Shogoinoge (Senior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade) and Ukyo no daibu (Master of the Western Capital Offices), because he became an adopted child of FUJIWARA no Yorinaga, who was the pupil of Moromitsu's real father Moroyori, and he himself was not so good at work. Before 1160, he hosted a Japanese poetry party and a party of a hundred poem sequence. Thereafter, he attended major Japanese poetry contests in the last days of the Heian period, which were hosted by FUJIWARA no Kiyosuke, TAIRA no Tsunemori, FUJIWARA no Sanekuni, MINAMOTO no Michichika, Kanezane KUJO and others. And around 1181, he also participated in transcribing waka on "Ippon Gyo Waka Kaishi" (a high-grade paper on which a waka composed under a certain topic was transcribed). He became a Buddhist priest in the early Kamakura period, and moved to Nara almost at the same time. In Nara, Moromitsu held "Ojoko kai" (a gathering to recite Buddhist sutra to pray for going to Paradise after death), and he did "Nijuhappon uta kanjin" (the dedication of Japanese poetry, composed under 28 different topics, to temples and shrines), and moreover, he compiled "Nantoshu" (Collection of Japanese Poems in Southern Capital), which was scattered and is nonexistent today. And after that, he attended some gatherings of Japanese poetry, such as a contest held at the residence of "FUJIWARA no Tsunefusa," the party of fifty poem sequence at the residence of Cloistered Imperial Prince Shukaku, and a contest at Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine. His poem was selected as one of the first hundred poem sequence in 1199, and he became one of the judges in a contest of 1500 Japanese poems. Of his poems, as many as 27 were selected to be included in "Chokusen wakashu" (anthology of Japanese poetry compiled by imperial command), including "Senzai Wakashu" (Collection of Japanese Poems of a Thousand Years). His poems were also selected to be included in "Tsukimode-shu" (Collection of Japanese Poems Composed at the Temple Visit Every Month), "Gengyoku-shu," "Kasen rakusho" (Masters' Poems in Light Style) and "Jisho Sanjuroku-nin Utaawase" (Japanese Poetry Contest of 36 Major Poets in the Era of Jisho), which show that his poems were highly evaluated in the poetry circles in those days. He also compiled his personal collection of "Moromitsu shu" (Poems of Moromitsu) and the private anthology of "Kagetsu shu" (Poems of the Beauty of Nature), but the latter was scattered and is nonexistent today.