Fujiwara no Yoshimi

Fujiwara no Yoshimi 藤原良相
Illustration by Kikuchi Yōsai, from Zenken Kojitsu
Family	Fujiwara Hokke
Father	Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu
Born	813
Died	November 9, 867

Fujiwara no Yoshimi (藤原 良相^?, 813 – November 9, 867) was a Japanese noble of the early Heian period. He was the fifth son of the sadaijin Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu of the Fujiwara Hokke and the uncle of Emperor Montoku. He reached the court rank of shō ni-i (正二位^?) and the position of udaijin, and was posthumously granted the rank of shō ichi-i (正一位^?). He was also known as Nishisanjō-Daijin (西三条大臣^?).

Studying at college in his youth, he possessed a quick tongue. In 834, Emperor Ninmyō summoned him and appointed Yoshimi to serve him personally as a private secretary (六位蔵人^?) and captain in the imperial guard (右兵衛権大尉^?). He was steadily promoted in the court. In 838 he was bestowed the rank of ju go-i no ge (従五位下^?), in 840 promoted to major general in the guard (左近衛少将^?), in 841 to ju go-i no jō (従五位上^?), in 843 to shō go-i no ge (正五位下^?) and governor of Awa province, in 844 to director of the kurōdo-dokoro, and in 846 to ju shi-i no ge (従四位下^?) and lieutenant general in the guard (左近衛中将^?). In 842, he also led 40 troops in surrounding Prince Tsunesada in the succession dispute known as the Jōwa Incident. Finally, in 848, he joined the ranks of the kugyō with a promotion to sangi.