ntoku 851-858

56th " Seiwa 859-876

57th " Yozei 877-884

58th " Koko 885-887

59th " Uda 888-897

60th " Daigo 898-930

BEGINNING OF FUJIWARA SUPREMACY

THE events that now occurred require to be prefaced by a table:

/
| Heijo
|
| Saga--Nimmyo (m. Jun, / Prince Michiyasu
| daughter of < (Emperor Montoku)
Kwammu < Fujiwara Fuyutsugu) \
|
| /
| Junna (m. Masa, < Prince Tsunesada
| daughter of Saga) \
\

In the year 834, Junna abdicated in favour of his elder brother
Saga's second son, who is known in history as Emperor Nimmyo. The
latter was married to Jun, daughter of Fujiwara Fuyutsugu, and had a
son, Prince Michiyasu. But, in consideration of the fact that Junna
had handed over the sceptre to Nimmyo, Nimmyo, in turn, set aside the
claim of his own son, Michiyasu, and conferred the dignity of Prince
Imperial on Prince Tsunesada, Junna's son. A double debt of gratitude
was thus paid, for Tsunesada was not only Junna's son but also Saga's
grandson, and thus the abdications of Saga and Junna were both
compensated. The new Prince Imperial, however, being a man of much
sagacity, foresaw trouble if he consented to supplant Nimmyo's son.
He struggled to avoid the nomination, but finally yielded to the
wishes of his father and his grandfather.

While these two ex-Emperors lived, things moved smoothly, to all
appearances. On their demise trouble arose immediately. The Fujiwara
family perceived its opportunity and decided to profit by it.
Fujiwara Fuyutsugu had died, and it chanced that his son Yoshifusa
was a man of boundless ambition. By him and his partisans a slander
was framed to the effect that the Crown Prince, Tsunesada, harboured
rebellious designs, and the Emperor, believing the story--having, it
is said, a disposition to believe it--pronounced sentence of exile
against Prince Tsunesada, as well as his friends, the celebrated
scholar, Tachibana no Hayanari, and the able statesman, Tomo no
Kowamine, together with a number of others. It is recorded that the
sympathy of the people was with the exiles.

These things happened in the year 843. The Fujiwara sought a
precedent in the action of their renowned ancestor, Momokawa, who, in
772, contr