Fujiwara Nanke (Fujiwara Nan Family) (藤原南家)
The Southern House of the Fujiwara clan was a family line whose originator was FUJIWARA no Muchimaro, the eldest son of FUJIWARA no Fuhito, the minister of the right. The name comes from the fact that the house of FUJIWARA no Muchimaro was located south of the house of FUJIWARA no Fusasaki.
Summary
Thereafter, in the period of the Emperor Kanmu, FUJIWARA no Tsugutada, the son of Toyonari who was Muchimaro's eldest son, and FUJIWARA no Korekimi, the son of FUJIWARA no Otomaro who was Muchimaro's third son, successively became minister of the right, whereby the power of Nanke was maintained.Thereafter, in the period of the Emperor Kanmu, FUJIWARA no Tsugutada, the son of Toyonari who was Muchimaro's eldest son, and FUJIWARA no Korekimi, the son of FUJIWARA no Otomaro who was Muchimaro's third son, successively became minister of the right, whereby the power of the Southern House of the Fujiwara clan was maintained.
Muchimaro had four sons, and from the era of Emperor Koken through that of Emperor Shotoku the first son, FUJIWARA no Toyonari (the minister of the right) and the second son, FUJIWARA no Nakamaro (the grand minister of state), successively became ministers. Nakamaro, in particular, backed Emperor Junnin and made his three sons (FUJIWARA no Masaki, FUJIWARA no Kusumaro and FUJIWARA no Asakari) sangi (councilors of state), whereby four people of Nakamaro and his sons became nobles and seized the dominant power; however, they fell from power as a result of FUJIWARA no Nakamaro's war in 764.
Thereafter, in the era of Emperor Kammu, FUJIWARA no Tsugutada, the son of Toyonari (Muchimaro's eldest son), and FUJIWARA no Korekimi, the son of FUJIWARA no Otomaro (Muchimaro's third son) successively became the minister of the right, whereby the power of the Southern House was maintained. However, in 807, during the era of Emperor Heijo, FUJIWARA no Otomo (son of the Korekimi, or Dainagon (chief councilor of state)) and FUJIWARA no otoei/Tadatoshi (son of the Tsugutada, or Chunagon (vice-councilor of state)), who were in the second and third positions of the political power at the time, fell from power as a result of {Iyo Shinno no Hen} (the Conspiracy of Imperial Prince Iyo), whereby the family lines of Toyonari and Otomaro declined as the central nobility, followed by the fall of Nakamaro. Incidentally, the descendant of FUJIWARA no Tamenori, who was descended from Otomaro and had distinguished himself as a samurai in the middle Heian era, expanded across the country and became the originators of the Ito, Kudo, Nikaido, Sagara, Kikkawa and Amano clans, etc.
After the mid-Heian era, amid the political decline of the Southern House due to the expanding power of the Northern House, the descendant of FUJIWARA no Kosemaro, who was the fourth son of Muchimaro, survived as the central nobility and many of the descendants became scholars. The typical case is FUJIWARA no Michinori/Shinzei, who gained power in the cloister government as In no Kinshin (a courtier of the ex-emperor). Moreover, from the descendant of FUJIWARA no Norisue, who was a vassal and close aide of Pope Goshirakawa and later became the maternal grandfather of Emperor Juntoku, came the Takakura Family (after the fall of the family in the late Muromachi era, the family was rebuilt and completed the kaigo (change of name of title) to the Yabu Family), meaning the Dojo Family.