Fujiwara no Moronaga

1137 (age 55)

Japan

A master player of the biwa (guitar). Appointed Gon Chunagon (Vice-Minister) in 1151. After the civil war of the Hogen Era (1156), he was exiled to Tosa (Kochi Prefecture) because his father had been involved in it. In 1164, he was called back and restored to his former position. Winning the favor of ex-Emperor Goshirakawa, he was appointed Prime Minister in 1177. At the wish of the ex-emperor, he planned to keep the Taira family in check (1179). At the intervention of Kiyomori, the head of the Taira family, he was deposed and exiled to Owari Province (Aichi Prefecture), where he became a priest with the name of Rikaku. The following year, he was pardoned and called back to Kyoto.