He was born the eldest son of Fujiwara no Michinaga and Rinshi, daughter of the Minister of the Left Minamoto no Masanobu. Michinaga also had another wife, Minamoto no Meishi, and her children, but Yorimichi and his brother Norimichi, sons of Rinshi, regarded as the principal wife, were especially favored in promotion. His elder sister Shōshi later became consort of Emperor Ichijō.
He came of age with the Palace Minister Fujiwara no Kinsue placing the cap on his head, took the name Yorimichi and received Senior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade. Three years later he rose to Junior Third Rank and joined the senior nobles. Backed by his father Michinaga, he advanced at an exceptional pace from a young age.
Yorimichi was married to Takahime, daughter of Prince Tomohira, when Emperor Sanjō offered him his daughter Princess Shishi. Michinaga was delighted, but according to the Eiga Monogatari, Yorimichi, who loved Takahime deeply, was distressed by the match and fell gravely ill, and the plan came to nothing.
He received from his father Michinaga, maternal grandfather of his nephew Emperor Go-Ichijō, the post of regent and the headship of the Fujiwara clan. He was then only in his mid-twenties, unusually young. Michinaga resigned as Grand Minister the next year but continued to support Yorimichi from behind as former regent, and Yorimichi sought his father's judgment on important matters.
He moved from regent to kampaku. That year, in the Toi invasion, Jurchen pirates called Toi attacked Tsushima, Iki and northern Kyushu and were driven off by Fujiwara no Takaie of Dazaifu and others. Yorimichi studied under Fujiwara no Sanesuke, an expert in court customs, and Sanesuke, though critical of Michinaga, was fond of Yorimichi.
His father Michinaga died. The next year the Rebellion of Taira no Tadatsune broke out in the Kanto; it took three years to suppress and left the Bōsō region devastated. The family of Minamoto no Yorinobu, who put it down, used this to extend their power in the Kanto, one of the steps by which warriors came to the forefront of politics.
When Emperor Go-Ichijō died and his brother Go-Suzaku took the throne, Yorimichi remained kampaku as the emperor's uncle. Having no daughter of his own, however, he adopted Genshi, daughter of Prince Atsuyasu and related to his wife Takahime, and made her the emperor's consort. Genshi bore a princess but soon died.
Emperor Go-Suzaku, falling ill, wished to make Prince Takahito, whose mother was not a Fujiwara, the next crown prince. Yorimichi objected that it was too early, but his half-brother Yoshinobu pressed the emperor hard, and Takahito became crown prince. Yorimichi is said to have refused to cooperate with Takahito thereafter.
He sent his only daughter Kanshi to the court of Emperor Go-Reizei and later had her made empress. He hoped a son would be born so that the Fujiwara would remain maternal relatives of the emperor, but the hope was not fulfilled. The next year the Former Nine Years' War began in Mutsu, and the provinces grew unsettled.
He converted his father Michinaga's villa at Uji into a temple, Byōdō-in. This year was believed to mark the start of mappō, the age of the decline of the Buddha's teaching, and Pure Land belief, praying for rebirth in paradise, was spreading. The next year the Amida hall, today's Phoenix Hall of Byōdō-in, was completed.
He was appointed Grand Minister, the highest post for a noble, and following his father's example resigned it the next year. Yorimichi loved waka poetry, hosting poetry contests and promoting the compiling of anthologies, leading the court in culture as well. Fourteen of his poems were chosen for imperial anthologies.
He resigned as kampaku, a post he had held for about fifty years, and received the status of jusangū. He wished his son Morozane to succeed him, but his sister Shōshi is said to have refused, citing Michinaga's last wishes, and his brother Norimichi became kampaku. Yorimichi is said to have bitterly resented Norimichi's failure to pass the post to Morozane as promised.
Emperor Go-Reizei died, and Prince Takahito, long coldly treated by Yorimichi, took the throne as Emperor Go-Sanjō. Yorimichi withdrew to Uji. The next year the new emperor issued the Enkyū manor regulation edict, subjecting even Fujiwara estates to review, though the lands of Byōdō-in are said to have remained untouched.
Yorimichi, who had taken Buddhist vows two years earlier, ended his life at Uji. His sister Shōshi died the same year and his brother Norimichi the next. With the people who had sustained the height of regent politics gone one after another, the age soon shifted to cloistered rule under Retired Emperor Shirakawa.
Sakanoue no TamuramaroSaichōKūkaiSugawara no MichizaneSei ShōnagonFujiwara no MichinagaMurasaki ShikibuTaira no Kiyomori
People of the Heian period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.