Wake no Kiyomaro

] According to the "Shoku Nihongi", he was sent to the Usa Shrine to receive a divine message; stating that only those of descent from Amaterasu could become emperor, it refuted the previous divine message claiming Dōkyō was to be the next emperor after Empress Kōken (later Empress Shōtoku).cite book|title=The Cambridge History of Japan|last=Hall|first=John Whitney|pages=516-517|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=1988|id=ISBN 0521223571] This report angered Dōkyō, who used his influence with the Empress to have an edict issued sending Kiyomaro into exile; he also had the sinews of Kiyomaro's legs cut, and only the protection of the Fujiwara clan saved him from being killed outright.cite book|last=Eliot|first=Charles|title=Japanese Buddhism|pages=p. 227|publisher=Routledge|date=1993|id=ISBN 0700702636]

The following year, however, Empress Shōtoku died. She was succeeded by Emperor Kōnin, who in turn exiled Dōkyō to Shimotsuke Province and not only recalled Wake no Kiyomaro from exile, but also appointed him as both "kami" (governor) of Bizen Province and "Udaijin" (junior minister of state).cite book|title=Buddhas and Kami in Japan: Honji Suijaku As a Combinatory Paradigm|last=Teeuwen|first=Mark|coauthors=Fabio Rambelli|pages=81-85|publisher=Routledge|date=2003|id=ISBN 0415297478] The following year, he petitioned the governor of Dazaifu to send officials to Usa to investigate allegations of "fraudulent oracles"; in his later report, Wake no Kiyomaro stated that out of five oracles checked, two were found to be fabricated. This resulted in the government relieving Usa no Ikemori of his position as head priest and replacing him with the previously-disgraced Ōga no Tamaro. Following this, Wake no Kiyomaro returned to Yamato. He remained a trusted advisor to Emperor Kammu; in the spring of 793, he convinced the emperor to abandon the delay-plagued construction of a capital at Nagaoka and instead seek another location to the northeast, at Heian-kyō (modern-day Kyōto.

His face appeared on 10-yen notes issued from 1888. [cite web|url=http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/htmls/history_26sub.htm|title=日本貨幣史 (History of Japanese currency)|language=Japanese|publisher=Bank of Japan|accessdate=2007-10-02]

References