Fujiwara no Fusasaki

Fujiwara no Fusasaki (681–737) was the second son of the minister Fujiwara no Fuhito. He entered the court's deliberations as sangi, a councillor, in 717, before his elder brother Muchimaro reached the senior council. In 721, the dying retired Empress Genmei entrusted affairs to Fusasaki and Prince Nagaya. Her instructions made Fusasaki uchi-tsu-omi, an extraordinary court role charged with coordinating affairs and supporting the reigning Empress Genshō. [S01, S02]

Fusasaki remained a councillor as Muchimaro advanced to higher ministerial offices. He also held administrative posts and was associated with command of the Middle Palace Guard. These positions gave him connections to both the sovereign's household and government. Historians disagree about his relationship with Muchimaro and his involvement in Nagaya's destruction in 729. Fusasaki's absence from the chronicle's account of the arrest does not independently establish either participation or innocence. [S01, S02]

He died during the smallpox epidemic of 737; his three brothers also died that year. His descendants formed the Fujiwara Northern House, named in relation to the location of his residence. The later achievements of that branch were not his own acts. Poetry anthologies also preserve Chinese verse and Japanese poems attributed to him, extending the record beyond his offices and his place in the family genealogy. [S01]