Wake no Kiyomaro
✓ Source-basedstableJapanese official
Wake no Kiyomaro was a high-ranking Japanese official during the Nara period. He was born in Bizen Province to a family of politically important, devoted Buddhists who hoped to keep Buddhism and politics separate through religious reform.
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About this person
Wake no Kiyomaro was a high-ranking Japanese official during the Nara period. He was born in Bizen Province to a family of politically important, devoted Buddhists who hoped to keep Buddhism and politics separate through religious reform. He became a trusted advisor to Emperor Kanmu, a position which he used to encourage the development of Buddhism in a direction which would prevent it from posing a threat to the government. 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. 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.
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