Fujiwara no Kiyonari (藤原清成)

FUJIWARA no Kiyonari (years of birth and death unknown) was a member of the nobility during the Nara Period. He was the third son (with different views on it) of FUJIWARA no Umakai and the father of FUJIWARA no Tanetsugu. The years of birth and death described in 'Sonpi Bunmyaku' (Bloodlines of Noble and Base) are the same as his brother, FUJIWARA no Yoshitsugu, and are believed to be a writing error. It is said that his mother was TAKAHASHI no Kasa no Ason who was the daughter of Ane no Iratsume and his wife was the daughter of HATA no Imikichogen.

It is said that he remained at 'no special rank or title' and died according to the record. Although his son, Tanetsugu, had been born in the same year (in 737) as the death of his father, Umakai, who served as Sangi (councilor) and Shikibukyo (Minister of the Ministry of Ceremonial), it is mysterious that there is no record of Kiyonari's careers except the record of 'no special rank or title'.

The Rebellion of FUJIWARA no Hirotsugu, his oldest brother, which happened three years after his father's death, can be considered as one of the records. Having been implicated in this War, his second older brother, FUJIWARA no Yoshitsugu who stayed in Kyoto and his younger brother, FUJIWARA no Tamaro were deprived of official ranks and deported while his younger brother, FUJIWARA no Tsunate, who was with Hirotsugu, was executed for the same crime as him (Naturally, his official rank was stripped). It is considered either Kiyonari was probably executed for his involvement in the Rebellion of FUJIWARA no Hirotsugu or he died of illness before the 742 when the Yoshitsugu brothers were permitted to return to Kyoto after they had been deported. The record might been removed from history books such as 'Shoku Nihongi' (Chronicle of Japan Continued) which took up neither a lower-ranking government official nor a person who has no special rank or title, if there is no special mention matter basically.
(The compilation period of 'Shoku Nihongi' was the times when his brother, FUJIWARA no Momokawa, and his son, Tanetsugu played central role in the government and some records might not have been written in the book due to the political situation of those days.)

[Original Japanese]