Murakuni no Mushimaro (村国虫麻呂)
MURAKUNI no Mushimaro (year of birth and death unknown) was a figure who lived during Japan's Nara period. His name is also sometimes written with a different combination of characters for "mushi", namely 武志 instead of 虫. His name is also read the same way when written with the the old kana orthography. His kabane (hereditary title) was Muraji. During FUJIWARA no Nakamaro's Revolt in 764, Mushimaro served under Nakamaro's son FUJIWARA no Kokachi as Echizen no suke (assistant governor of Echizen Province), and was stripped of his rank and position after being implicated in Nakamaro's revolt, but was restored to his original rank in 766. His court rank was Ge-jugoinoge (Jugoinoge [Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade] given to persons outside Kyoto).
His achievements
The Murakuni clan was the most powerful local family in the Kakami district of Mino Province, and thanks to MURAKUNI no Oyori winning distinction in the fighting during the Jinshin War (of 672), their fame appears to have grown enough to be known to the Imperial Court. Mushimaro is thought to have been a descendant of Oyori's, but his actual genealogy remains unknown.
On the fifteenth day of the second month of 761, MURAKUNI no Mushimaro, Shorokuinojo (Senior Sixth Rank, Upper Grade), was promoted to Ge-jugoinoge; this marks the first mention of Mushimaro in the "Shoku Nihongi." On the forth day of the sixth month of 763, Mushimaro was named Harima no kuni no suke (Assistant Governor of Harima Province). On the second day of the third month of 764, upon FUJIWARA no Kokachi becoming the governor of Echizen Province, Mushimaro became his assistant governor. Kokachi was FUJIWARA no Nakamaro's son, and was killed in the tenth month of 764 during FUJIWARA no Nakamaro's Revolt. Mushimaro was implicated in Nakamaro's Revolt, for which it seems he was stripped of his position and rank.
The revolt was suppressed, and thereafter, on the second day of the second month of 767, Mushimaro, who had been lacking any court rank since 764, was restored to his original rank of Ge-jugoinoge. Before this change of fortunes for Mushimaro, the government acknowledged that MURAKUNI no Shimanushi, who had been killed for his supposed involvement in Nakamaro's Revolt, had been innocent. Mushimaro was most likely rehabilitated because the government decided or acknowledged that he had not participated in the uprising. This mention of Mushimaro's restoration of rank is the last mention of him in the historical record.