Fujiwara no Akimitsu

Fujiwara no Akimitsu (藤原 顕光, 944 – July 7, 1021) was a Japanese Heian period bureaucrat, who held the post of Sadaijin (Minister of the Left). His father was Fujiwara no Kanemichi.

Akimitsu is known for having been involved in a strange set of circumstances regarding his daughter, En-shi. En-shi was married to the Emperor's son, Imperial Prince Atsuakira (敦明親王) (later, Ko-Ichijō In, 小一条院). When Imperial Prince Atsuakira chose to take on a daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga as a second wife in return for declination from Crown Prince, En-shi grew spiteful and turned to Akimitsu for help. She died soon afterwards of grief, and Akimitsu is said to have asked a bonze (a monk) named Dōman to cast a spell or curse on Michinaga. Akimitsu thus came to be known as Akuryō-safu (悪霊左府), meaning "the safu (=Sadaijin) with evil spirits."

References

• Papinot, Edmond (1910). Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha.