mid-Heian period · 966–1028Fujiwara no Michinaga

The most powerful statesman of the Heian period. Fifth son of the regent Kaneie, he seized control of the government in 995 after the deaths of his elder brothers and the fall of his nephew Korechika. By marrying three daughters to successive emperors he became grandfather to three sovereigns and brought the Fujiwara regency to its zenith. He became Chancellor of the Realm in 1017, took Buddhist vows in 1019 and built the temple of Hōjō-ji. His poem of 1018 comparing his glory to a full moon that lacks nothing, recorded in a courtier's diary, became the emblem of his age. His own diary survives in his hand.