(c.
718 –
October 5,
785) was a
Japanese statesman and ''
waka'' poet in the
Nara period. He is a member of the . He was born into the prestigious
Ōtomo clan; his grandfather was
Ōtomo no Amaro and his father was
Ōtomo no Tabito.
Ōtomo no Kakimochi was his younger brother, and
Ōtomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume his aunt. His granduncle is possibly
Ōtomo no Komaro who came to Japan in the time of
Jitō Tennō.
Political life
The Ōtomo clan were warriors and bureaucrats in the
Yamato Court, and Yakamochi served as a in several provinces. Like his grandfather and father before him, Yakamochi was a well known politician, and by
Enryaku rose to the position of , the highest bureaucratic position. In
738 he met
Udoneri, and in
740 at the behest of
Emperor Shōmu went to
Kyūshū Daisaifu to suppress the rebellion of
Fujiwara no Hirotsugu. In
745 he became a . In July of the following year, he became governor of
Etchu Province, a post he lasted in until
751. By this time he was already the author of 220 ''waka''. In
751 he was promoted to and returned to the capital. In
754 he was appointed , and the following year concerned himself with the at
Namba, a time that is described in the ''Sakimori Songs Collection'' in the ''
Man'yōshū''. Yakamochi did not take part in the . Instead, he conspired with
Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu,
Isonokami Yakatsugu and
Saeki no Imaemishi to plot the assassination of
Fujiwara no Nakamaro. Afterwards Yoshitsugu took sole responsibility for the affair, but due to suspicions about Yakamochi's involvement he was transferred to the governorship of
Satsuma Province. In
777 he rose to the governorship of
Ise Province. According to the records of the , he served in this post for about five years. In
780 he was promoted to . Fearing suspicion and banishment from the capital for aiding in
Hikami no Kawatsugu's , he remained quiet and was promoted to in
783. He died by drowning in
Mutsu Province while attending to his concurrent post as ''
shogun''. Soon after his death,
Fujiwara no Tanetsugu was assassinated; suspecting that Yakamochi was involved in the affair, his burial was denied and he was posthumously disgraced and excommunicated. His son was stripped of rank and forced into exile, and it was only in
806 that he regained his rank.
Poetic works
Yakamochi was one of the compilers of the ''
Man'yōshū'', the first Imperial poetry anthology, for which he not only wrote several poems but also transcribed, rewrote, and refashioned an unknown number of ancient poems and folklore. He was the most prolific and prominent writer of his time, and had a great influence on the ''
Shika Wakashū'' as well.
References
★ This article is based on material from the .
External links
★
大伴家持全集 本文編 (Collected works of Otomo Yakamochi; in Japanese)
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