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Paper short abstract:

This presentation discusses the writing of the clan history 'Tōshi Kaden' as part of the consolidation of Fujiwara legitimacy in eighth century Japan. I will explore the relation between the representation of the clan's origins and institutional reform under Fujiwara no Nakamaro (706-764).

Paper long abstract:

Central to my analysis of the clan history 'Tōshi Kaden' partially composed by Fujiwara no Nakamaro (706-764), will be the text's religious and intellectual property to define the role of the Fujiwara as the sovereign's main servants. The History of the Fujiwara House will thus be approached as a form of myth history that situates the Fujiwara in the physical and conceptual proximity of the sovereign. No history is a direct account of the past and by constantly referring to a supreme, cosmic order, the three biographies included in this text reconstruct history, ending up with a clan record that seeks to legitimate the position of the Fujiwara.

The position of the servant and his moral dilemma regarding political change and rebellion are central topics in the 'Tōshi Kaden' and as we will see these were all too relevant concerns during the last few years leading up to Nakamaro's violent death in 764. Given his importance for the early Japanese state it is puzzling to see that Nakamaro and his institutional policies have not yet received more attention. In fact, his reputation was a very negative one for a very long time, undoubtedly the consequence of his negative depiction in the Shoku Nihongi as ordered by his victorious adversary, Kōken Tennō (718-770). This presentation seeks to readdress Nakamaro's institutional, religious and literary legacy through an in-depth analysis of the 'Tōshi Kaden'.