The History of the Fujiwara House: A Study and Annotated Translation of the Tōshi Kaden

118 Pages·2020·2.439 MB·English

by  Mikaël Bauer

THE HISTORY OF THE FUJIWARA HOUSE
The monk Jo¯ e 定恵 (643-666? ) as depicted in the painting Fujiwara no
Kamatariz¯o 藤原鎌足像, Muromachi Period. The Fujiwara patriarch features
here as a Shinto deity, flanked by his two sons, the courtier Fuhito 不比等
(659–720) and the monk Jo¯ e. Unfortunately, Fuhito’s biography has been lost.
Courtesy: Princeton University Art Museum.
The History of the
Fujiwara House
A Study and Annotated Translation
-
of the Toshi Kaden
a
By
Mikaël Bauer
McGill University
THE HISTORY OF THE FUJIWARA HOUSE
A STUDY AND ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE To-SHI KADEN
First published 2020 by
RENAISSANCE BOOKS
P O Box 219
Folkestone
Kent CT20 2WP
Renaissance Books is an imprint of Global Books Ltd
ISBN 978-1912961-18-4 [Hardback]
© Mikaël Bauer 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, elec-
tronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written
permission from the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Set in Bembo 11 on 12pt by Dataworks
Printed and bound in England by CPI Antony Rowe Ltd., Chippenham, Wilts
Contents
a
Acknowledgements vii
Fujiwara Family Line ix
Introduction xi
Part I: Fujiwara no Nakamaro
– The Nara period 1
– The Fujiwara 3
– Fujiwara no Nakamaro 4
– Early life 7
– Political career 8
– Gradual rise to prominence 9
– The Shoku Nihongi entry for same date records 12
– The Rebellion 14
– Nakamaro’s religious policies 17
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– Nakamaro and Toshi Kaden 19
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– Scholarship on Toshi Kaden 21
Part II: Narratives of the three extant chronicles
– The Chronicle of Kamatari 24
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– The Chronicle of Joe 28
– The Chronicle of Muchimaro 33
Part III: Translations
– The Chronicle of Kamatari 39
-
– The Chronicle of Joe 63
– The Chronicle of Muchimaro 71
Bibliography 91
Index 97
v

Acknowledgements
a
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My translation of the Toshi Kaden grew out of my
-
doctoral research on the origins of Kofukuji, the clan temple of
the Fujiwara family. For this reason, I would like to start by thank-
-
ing my academic advisor, Ryuichi Abe, and the members of my
Ph.D. committee, Mikael Adolphson and James Robson. During
several stays in Japan, I have always received much academic and
personal support from Uejima Susumu and Robert Rhodes, who
-
also read an earlier draft of my translations. At Kofukuji in Nara I
have always been welcomed by Gyoei.
Christopher Callahan, Andrea Pinkney and Meera Kachroo
read the final draft and made valuable suggestions to improve
the introduction and the prose of the translations. Richard Bow-
ring kindly proofread the entire manuscript at its final stage. On
various occasions I received valuable feedback and helpful sug-
gestions from Ross Bender, Raji Steineck, Matthew Stavros and
Thomas Conlan. At the School of Religious Studies at McGill
I also enjoyed warm encouragement from Garth Green, Lara
Braitstein, Hamsa Stainton and Rongdao Lai. Paul Norbury from
Renaissance Books was very helpful and encouraging from the
very beginning.
On a more personal level, I would like to thank first and fore-
most my parents: my father Raoul Bauer, an historian who has
published widely on European history, and my mother Rita
Van Camp, a retired teacher and art historian. Both have always
encouraged my academic curiosity, although my topic of choice
was quite distant from theirs. My sister Dominique Bauer has
always been my best friend, showing interest in my work without
fail. Finally I would like to thank my wife Yaxiang Lu, and her par-
ents in China who always enquire about my work and teaching.
Yaxiang has always been there for me, in Japan, the US, the UK
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viii THE HISTORY OF THE FUJIWARA HOUSE
and Canada and I am thankful for her love. Yuhan Peter and Yilin,
my son and daughter, have always provided welcome and unwel-
come distractions, both on and off the ice in Montreal.
Mikaël Bauer, Montreal
February 15, 2020
Shōmu (701-756; 45) oku (718-770; 46 and 48)
ōt
Fujiwara Family Line Ame no Koyane no Mikoto (mythical ancestor) Nakatomi no Mikeko (?-?) ?-683Nakatomi no Kamatari (614-669)Kagami no Ōkimi () Jōe (643?-665?) Fujiwara no Fuhito (659-720) Umakai (684-737)Maro (695-737)Kōmyō (701-760)Muchimaro (680-737)Fusasaki (681-737) Nakamaro (706-764)Toyonari (704-766)Kōken/ Sh Northern Fujiwara The grey area refers to sovereigns, the number indicates their succession Jōe might have been Kamatari’s adoptive son
ix