Fujiwara no Asako (藤原朝子)

FUJIWARA no Asako (or Tomoko, year of birth unknown - February 19, 1166) was a woman in the later Heian period. She was the daughter of FUJIWARA no Kanenaga. She is known as the name of Ki no tsubone.

At first, Asako served FUJIWARA no Shoshi (also called Taikenmonin) who was the empress of Emperor Toba, and Asako began to be called Ki no tsubone because Asako's father was Ki no kuni no kokushi (the governor of Ki Province). Later, Asako got married to FUJIWARA no Michinori (or called Shinzei) who also served Taikenmonin. After that, Asako served as the wet nurse of Imperial Prince Masahito who was the child of Taikenmonin. In 1135, Asako and Michinori had their own child FUJIWARA no Shigenori.

After Imperial Prince Masahito ascended the throne as Emperor Goshirakawa, Asako began to be given senior positions, such as Naishi no suke (the first-ranking Court lady) in 1157 and Junii (Junior Second Rank) in 1159, and she was called 'Ki no nii' for the rank.

[Original Japanese]