Emperor Uda

Emperor Uda (867 – 931; reigned 887 – 897) was the fifty-ninth emperor. His personal name (imina) was Sadami or Chōjiin–tei.

Emperor Uda’s father was Emperor Kōkō. Emperor Kōkō demoted his sons from the rank of imperial royals to that of subjects in order to save expenses and to weaken their potential political influence. Sadami was given the clan name of Minamoto and was thus called Minamoto no Sadami. His birth mother was Empress Dowager Hanshi, a daughter of Prince Nakano, and grand-daughter of Emperor Kanmu. His birth is notable because he was not born to a daughter of the Fujiwara regent houses. Hanshi died young and Sadami (Uda)was adopted by Naishi-no-tsukasa (female palace attendant) Fujiwara no Yoshiko, the half-sister of kampaku Fujiwara no Mototsune.

Fujiwara no Yoshiko (838 – June 22, 906) was a female noble and a court lady.  Her father was Fujiwara no Nagara, a high-ranking court noble, whose brother was Fujiwara no Yoshifusa. She was the half-sister of Fujiwara no Mototsune and half-sister of Fujiwara no Takaiko, the mother of Emperor Yozei. Yoshiko married Fujiwara no Ujimune, a grandson of Wake no Kiyomaro. In 884, she became a Naishi-no-tsukasa (female palace attendant). She adopted Sadami and played a very important role in Sadami’s ascension to the throne.

In 887, Emperor Kōkō began to look for a successor. Through the influence of Fujiwara no Yoshiko and Fujiwara no Mototsune, Sadami was promoted to the rank of Imperial Prince on August 30, 887. In September, Kōkō died and Sadami ascended to the Imperial Throne as Uda in November.

Yoshiko was rewarded for her efforts. She was promoted to Juichii (Junior First Rank), an extremely high rank, and posthumously awarded the title of Shoichii (Senior First Rank) shortly after she died.

Early in Uda’s reign, he relied upon Mototsune for counsel.  Uda had rejected Mototsune’s request to retire in 887 on the basis that his youth and inexperience precluded his ability to govern, and even threatened to retire to a monastery. However, after the death of Mototsune, Uda began to assert his independence from the Fujiwara. He promoted non-Fujiwara especially the Minamoto to important posts. His most noteworthy appointment was Sugawara no Michizane, a man from a family of educators and scholars, to very high positions that normally would not be open to him.

Emperor Uda attempted to revive the Ritsuryō Codes and Confucian doctrine and culture. He had Michizane review court cases to give amnesty to those wrongfully imprisoned. Acting on the advice of Michizane, he stopped sending ambassadors to China because of political instability there. He attempted to protect peasant property rights from powerful families and religious institutions. He worked with Fujiwara no Tokihira, the son and heir of Mototsune, to prevent tax avoidance by large rural landholders. He oversaw a compilation of administrative regulations, the Engi shiki (Procedures of the Engi Era).

In 888, the construction of Ninna-ji was completed and a disciple of Kūkai was installed as abbot.

In 897 Uda abdicated in favor of his eldest son, who became Emperor Daigo. As so often the case, former Emperor Uda continued to exercise power afterwards, most notably elevating Sugawara no Michizane to the Minister of the Right (udaijin). However, he was forced to elevate Fujiwara no Tokihira as Minister of the Left (sadaijin), the more powerful of the two positions, which later would have dire consequences for Michizane.

Uda’s Nygyo (ranking consorts) were Fujiwara no Inshi, Fujiwara no Onshi (Yoshiko), Tachibana no Ginshi (Noriko), Sugawara no Enshi (Hiroko), and Tachibana no Boshi (Fusako).  In this group, Inshi and Onshi came from the powerful Fujiwara clan. Ginshi and Boshi came from the Tachibana, a clan who rivaled the Fujiwara in prestige and power. Enshi was the daughter of Sugawara no Michizane.

Fujiwara no Inshi was the mother of Imperial Prince Atsugimi. (The boy was born prior to Uda ascending the throne, so he had the name Minamoto no Korezane. He was also known as Atsugimi and Atsuhito. Names were rather fluid in those days.) She died rather young, and Atsugimi was adopted by Fujiwara no Onshi (Yoshiko). Onshi was the daughter of Fujiwara no Mototsune. Atsugimi later ascended to the imperial throne as Emperor Daigo. He married his aunt,  sister and daughter of Mototsune, who (to make matters very confusing) was also named Fujiwara no Onshi, the same name as his adoptive mother. So Mototsune was the father-in-law and the grandfather of Emperor Daigo.

Emperor Daigo and Onshi had Minamoto no Masanobu, Uda’s grandson. Masanobu became the Minister of the Left.  Masanobu married a daughter of Fujiwara no Tokihira and their daughter, Minamoto no Rinshi, married Fujiwara no Michinaga and from their union came Shōshi, a consort of Emperor Ichijō; Yorimichi, a regent for the Emperors Go-Ichijō, Go-Suzaku, and Go-Reizei; Kenshi,  consort of Emperor Sanjo; Norimichi, regent for Emperors Go-Sanjo and Shirakawa; Ishi, consort of Emperor Go-Ichijō; and Kishi, consort of Crown Prince Atsunaga, later Emperor Go-Suzaku.

Some of Uda’s grandchildren were granted the surname Minamoto (Genji). Since the surname Minamoto was common for ancestors of royalty, they were distinguished by being known as the Uda Genji. Some of the Uda Genji moved to Ōmi Province and became known as the Sasaki clan or Ōmi Genji.