Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu

Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu (藤原良継^?, 716 – October 27, 777) was a Japanese statesman, courtier, and politician of the Nara period. He was the second son of the founder of the Shikike branch of the Fujiwara, Fujiwara no Umakai. His original name was Sukunamaro (宿奈麻呂^?). He was the maternal grandfather of the emperors Heizei and Saga.

In the year 740, after the death of their father Umakai in 737, Sukunamaro's brother Fujiwara no Hirotsugu led a rebellion. Sukunamaro was implicated and exiled to Izu Province. In 742 he was forgiven, and appointed to the position of shō-hanji. In 746, he was promoted from shō roku-i no ge (正六位下^?) to ju go-i no ge (従五位下^?) under the court rank system.

Afterwards, he moved between a number of positions, including several as a regional administrator, but was unable to produce any spectacular results. In addition, the Shikike branch was in steep decline compared to the Nanke and Hokke branches of the family, and Sukunamaro remained in obscurity. In 762, Fujiwara no Nakamaro was at the peak of his success, and while his three sons were promoted to sangi, the 47-year-old Sukunamaro was resigned to his rank of ju go-i no ge. Sukunamaro conspired with Ōtomo no Yakamochi, Saeki no Imaemishi, and Isonokami no Yakatsugu in a plot to assassinate Nakamaro, but the plan was discovered. In 763, the four were arrested, but Sukunamaro insisted that he had acted alone. Convicted of a crime against the Imperial family, he was stripped of his position and his family name.

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