Fujiwara no Sueyuki (藤原季行)

FUJIWARA no Sueyuki (1114-1162) was a Court noble who lived during the last days of Heian period. The third son of FUJIWARA no Atsukane who belonged to the Michitsuna Fujiwara line of the Northern House of the Fujiwara clan and was the Gyobukyo (Minister of Justice). Jusanmi (Junior Third Rank) and Dazai no daini (Senior Assistant Governor-General of the Dazai-fu offices). Called himself as Sanuki no sanmi.

Joshaku (conferring peerage) in 1125. After that, he successively held kokushi (provincial governors) in various districts and Dazai no daini. In 1156, he was the Sanuki no kuni no kami (Provincial Governor of Sanuki), and was in charge of escorting Retired Emperor Sutoku when he was exiled to Sanuki after Hogen War in the same year. In 1159, he was assigned to Chugu no suke (Assistant Master of the Consort's Household) when Takamatsuin (Imperial Princess Shushi), whose menoto (a woman providing breast-feeding to a highborn baby) was his wife, became Emperor Nijo's chugu (the second consort of an emperor). In the same year, he became Jusanmi.

One of his daughters became FUJIWARA no Kanezane's wife, and she gave birth to Yoshimichi KUJO and Yoshitsune KUJO. Thus he established a good relationship with Sekkan-ke (the families which produced regents), and Yoshitsune was adopted by Takamatsuin because of this bond. He was familiar with public music and dancing, and was said to play hichiriki (small double-reed wind instrument made of bamboo) often. He was also excellent at waka (a traditional Japanese poem of 31 syllables), and one of his poems was selected to be in Senzaishu (poem collection of a thousand years).

His offsprings formed three Tosho-ke (the hereditary lineage of Court nobles occupying relatively high ranks), the Yobai family, the Nijo family, and the Hiramatsu family (Michitsuna line), however each family line ended during the Muromachi period.

[Original Japanese]