Isonokami no Maro 石上麻呂 | |
|---|---|
 Illustration by Kikuchi Yōsai, from Zenken Kojitsu | |
| Born | 640 |
| Died | April 22, 717 |
Isonokami no Maro (石上麻呂, 640 - April 22, 717) was a Japanese statesman of the Asuka period and early Nara period[1] His family name was Mononobe no Muraji, later Mononobe no Ason and Isonokami no Ason. He attained the court rank of shō ni-i (正二位) and sadaijin, and posthumously ju ichi-i (従一位).
In 672 Maro supported Prince Ōtomo (later known as Emperor Kōbun) in the Jinshin War until the prince's suicide. He was forgiven and sent as an envoy to Silla in 676. After this he served as a judge (法官), and as head of the dazaifu in 700. He became centrally involved in politics with a promotion to dainagon in 701, making udaijin in 704 and sadaijin in 708. Between 715 and his death in 717 Maro was the most powerful man in the daijō-kan.
Maro is also thought to be the model of Isonokami no Marotari (石上まろたり), one of Princess Kaguya's five noble suitors in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
- ^ Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD 697. Tra.nslated by W.G. Aston ([Reprint] ed.). London: Routledge. 2010. ISBN 9780415594004.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)