Fujiwara no Kinzane (藤原公実)
FUJIWARA no Kinzane (1053 - December 29, 1107) was a court noble and poet of Heian period. He ended his career as Dainagon (chief councilor of state), senior second rank, and was known as Sanjo Dainagon (chief councilor of state). He was the oldest son of FUJIWARA no Sanesue, Dainagon (chief councilor of state), and his mother was the daughter of FUJIWARA no Tsunehira. He was also the great‐great‐grandson of the ancestor of the Kaninke, the grand minister of state FUJIWARA no Kinsue. Among his brothers and sisters were FUJIWARA no Yasuzane, FUJIWARA no Nakazane and FUJIWARA no Ishi (Emperor Horikawa's concubine and mother of Emperor Toba). Because Emperor Shirakawa was his cousin, he was deeply trusted by the Imperial Court and served Emperor Horikawa as a trusted vassal, while his wife FUJIWARA no Mitsuko served as a wet nurse for the emperors Horikawa and Toba. He was also very active in poetry circles, composing a poem for the imperial collection of 1105, "Horikawa-in On-toki Hyakushu Waka" (Horikawa Hundred Poems); additionally, his poem was chosen for the Goshui wakashu, the fourth imperial anthology of waka poetry, which was edited while he was still alive. There is also a private collection called "Kinzane Shu" (which exists as fragments).
According to an anecdote told about Kinzane, when his nephew acceded to the throne as Emperor Toba in 1107, Kinzane insisted that, as the father of the young Emperor's wife, he himself should become the emperor's regent rather than the head of the Fujiwara regent's line, FUJIWARA no Tadazane (who he despised for his youth), but MINAMOTO no Toshiakira, the superintendant of the court of the retired Emperor Shirakawa, refused his demand, saying, 'How foolish you are to desire to become regent now, having held the rank of shodaibu through four generations of emperors.'
However, Kinzane's power and influence were directly reflected in the success of his children （Saneyuki SANJO became the grand minister of state, Saneyoshi TOKUDAIJI became the minister of the right and the youngest daughter, FUJIWARA no Shoshi, became the empress to Emperor Toba). Kinzane was also the common ancestor of three of the nine Seiga court families: the Sanjo family, the Saionji family and the Tokudaiji family.