Fujiwara no Kanefusa (Chugu no suke, Assistant Master of the Consorts Household) (藤原兼房 (中宮亮))
FUJIWARA no Kanefusa (1001 - July 1, 1069) was a court noble statesman of the Heian period.
His father was a Chunagon (vice-councilor of state), FUJIWARA no Kanetaka (the legitimate son of Awata no Kanpaku, a chief adviser to the Emperor, Fujiwara no Michikane)
His mother was a daughter of MINAMOTO no Sukeyoshi. He was held the rank and title of Shoshiinoge (Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade) and Chugu no suke.
He succeeded his father, who had a certain political power, as an aide of FUJIWARA no Michinaga, and successively filled the posts of Governor of Sanuki Province, Governor of Bicchu Province, and Ushosho (Minor Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards), etc. He sometimes acted rudely and there were records that he chased FUJIWARA no Sadayori in the palace in 1018, scuffled with MINAMOTO no Tsunesada in 1021, and incited mob violence on FUJIWARA no Akitomo in 1023. It seems these behaviors might have influenced his career such that he could not gain popularity as a stateman and he was not be promoted to Kugyo (high court noble) in his lifetime.
In the meanwhile, he won himself a reputation as a poet and 16 of his poems were selected into an anthology of poems collected by Imperial command. It is said that he adored KAKINOMOTO no Hitomaro so much that he saw Hitomaro's figure in his dream and he had it painted in a picture and stored in secrecy. He had exchanges with poets such as Noin, Sagami (a waka poet), and Idewa no ben, and even had a daughter (Shoyu of the House of the Minister of the Left) with Gonojijyu.
According to Sonpi Bunmyaku (a text compiled in the fourteenth century that records the lineages of the aristocracy) and Utsunomiya family records, it is said that he had a son, FUJIWARA no Soen, who became the founder of the Utsunomiya clan. However, some disagree with this opinion, and the exact truth is not known.