Murakuni no Oi (村国子老)
MURAKUNI no Oi (year of birth and death unknown) was a figure who lived during Japan's Nara period. His kabane (hereditary title) was Muraji. In 741 he was dismissed from his post as Sanuki no kuni no suke (Assistant Governor of Sanuki Province). In 763 he was promoted to Ge-jugoinoge (Jugoinoge [Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade] given to persons outside Kyoto) and named the governor of Noto Province, but was implicated in FUJIWARA no Nakamaro's Revolt and punitively dismissed from his post and rank. In 770 he was restored to his original rank, and then in 771 he was named Sonoike no kami (director of gardens and ponds) before he was successively named, in 772, Izu no kami (governor of Izu province) and Izumo no suke (the assistant governor of Izumo province).
His achievements
The Murakuni clan was the most powerful local family in the Kakami district of Mino Province, and thanks to MURAKUNI no Oyori winning distinction in the fighting during the Jinshin War (of 672), their fame appears to have grown enough to be known to the Imperial Court. Oi is thought to have been a descendant of Oyori's, but his actual genealogy remains unknown.
On the 18th day of the seventh month of 741, MURAKUNI no Oi, who at that time was Sanuki no kuni no suke (Assistant Governor of Sanuki Province) and was Shorokuinojo (Senior Sixth Rank, Upper Grade), was dismissed from his post, as was NICHIKIBE no Okasa, the Jo (secretary of provincial offices) of Echigo Provice. The reason for their dismissal is thought to have been that they failed to show gratitude to the head of government, with neither of them able to obey orders in a reasonable manner. Their court rank, however, remained unchanged.
On the first day of the third month of 763, Oi was promoted from Shorokuinojo (Senior Sixth Rank, Upper Grade) to Ge-jugoinoge (Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade) given to persons outside Kyoto), and was appointed Shusen no kami (Director of the Ministry of Ships). Then, on the eighth day of the ninth month of 764, he was named Noto no kami (the governor of Noto Province). FUJIWARA no Nakamaro's Revolt broke out the following month. As regards Murakuni clan members affected by the revolt, MURAKUNI no Shimanushi was thought to be of Nakamaro's ruling faction and was consequently killed. No records survive of how Oi was dealt with, but it seems that he was dismissed from his post as Noto no kami (the governor of Noto Province) and either stripped of his court rank or demoted. The following year, HEGURI no Mushimaro was appointed Noto no kami.
On the twenty seventh day of the tenth month of 770, Oi was promoted from Shorokuinojo to Ge-jugoinoge. The year after he was named Sonoike no kami (director of gardens and ponds), and in 774 he was first made Izu-no-kuni-no-kami (the governor of Izu Province) and then Izumo no suke (the assistant governor of Izumo province); after this point no further mention is made of Oi in the historical record.