Regency and the court
Yorimichi was a son of Michinaga and Minamoto no Rinshi. He succeeded his father as regent for Emperor Go-Ichijō in 1017 and became kanpaku in 1019. Both offices were close to imperial authority, but they were distinct positions within court government.
Furuse Natsuko emphasizes the continuing influence of Shōshi, the emperor's mother, over appointments and the treatment of regents. After Michinaga's death, Yorimichi also consulted her wishes. His career therefore involved relationships within the imperial household as well as succession from his father.
Poetry and ceremonial culture
The diary places Yorimichi in specific cultural settings. An entry from 1004 concerns his journey to Kasuga Shrine as an imperial messenger. A 1018 banquet at his residence required seasonal painted screens, with poems written by the calligrapher Fujiwara no Yukinari.
Yorimichi also planned a ten-volume compilation of poetry contests. Yōmei Bunko describes the survival of a complete sixth volume and parts of the fifth and tenth. Ceremonial display and compilation thus formed different parts of elite literary activity, and the surviving fragments represent only part of the project.
Uji and Byōdō-in
In 1052 Yorimichi converted the Uji villa inherited from Michinaga into Byōdō-in. The Amida Hall, later called Phoenix Hall, followed in 1053, housing the image made by Jōchō. Estate resources and skilled production supported a religious foundation.
The temple history connects its foundation with contemporary belief that the age of mappō had begun. Its setting expressed hopes for rebirth in Amida's Pure Land. Yorimichi died in 1074, while the temple and manuscripts preserved different parts of his patronage.