WAgatainukai (no) Michiyo , or Tachibana no Michiyo , is a court lady of early Nara period and mother of Empress Kōmyō.
WFujiwara no Kamatari was a Japanese statesman, courtier and aristocrat during the Asuka period (538–710). He is the founder of the Fujiwara clan, the most powerful aristocratic family in Japan during Nara and Heian periods. He, along with the Mononobe clan, was a supporter of Shinto and fought the introduction of Buddhism to Japan. The Soga clan, defenders of Buddhism in the Asuka period, defeated Kamatari and the Mononobe clan and Buddhism became the dominant religion of the imperial court. Kamatari, along with Prince Naka no Ōe, later Emperor Tenji (626–672), launched the Taika Reform of 645, which centralized and strengthened the central government. Just before his death he received the surname Fujiwara and the rank Taishōkan from Emperor Tenji, thus establishing the Fujiwara clan.
WFujiwara no Matate was a Japanese noble of the Nara period. He was the third son of the founder of the Hokke branch of the Fujiwara, the sangi Fujiwara no Fusasaki. He achieved the court rank of shō san-mi (正三位) and the position of dainagon, and posthumously of daijō-daijin. His original name was Yatsuka (八束).
WEmpress Jitō was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
WKakinomoto no Hitomaro was a Japanese waka poet and aristocrat of the late Asuka period. He was the most prominent of the poets included in the Man'yōshū, the oldest waka anthology, but apart from what can be gleaned from hints in the Man'yōshū, the details of his life are largely uncertain. He was born to the Kakinomoto clan, based in Yamato Province, probably in the 650s, and likely died in Iwami Province around 709.
WŌtomo no Yakamochi was a Japanese statesman and waka poet in the Nara period. He was one of the Man'yō no Go-taika, the five great poets of his time, and was part of Fujiwara no Kintō's Thirty-six Poetry Immortals .
WTachibana no Moroe was a Japanese Imperial prince and official in the court of Emperor Shōmu and Empress Kōken.
WEmperor Tenji , also known as Emperor Tenchi, was the 38th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
WEmperor Tenmu was the 40th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
WPrince Toneri was a Japanese imperial prince in the Nara period. He was a son of Emperor Tenmu. He was given the posthumous name, Emperor Sudoujinkei , as the father of Emperor Junnin. In the beginning of the Nara period, he gained political power as a leader of the Imperial family together with Prince Nagaya. He supervised the compilation of the Nihon Shoki.
WYamabe no Akahito was a poet of the Nara period in Japan. The Man'yōshū, an ancient anthology, contains 13 chōka and 37 tanka of his. Many of his poems were composed during journeys with Emperor Shōmu between 724 and 736. Yamabe is regarded as one of the kami of poetry, and is called Waka Nisei along with Kakinomoto no Hitomaro. He is noted as one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals.
WEmperor Yūryaku was the 21st legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He is remembered as a patron of sericulture.