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A court noble and statesman of the mid-Heian period. Though born the fifth son of Fujiwara no Kaneie, the successive deaths of his brothers brought him to the apex of the Fujiwara clan. He installed four of his daughters as consorts of emperors or crown princes and perfected the regency system (sekkan seiji) of guiding emperors as maternal grandfather. Though he formally held the posts of regent and Grand Minister only in his final years, he reigned in practice as the supreme power at court for over twenty years. When his third daughter Ishi was installed as chūgū (chief consort) in 1018, he composed the verse: "This world, I think, / is indeed my world— / the full moon / lacks nothing, / nothing at all." It is one of the most famous waka poems in Japanese history, celebrating his political zenith. He gathered talented women such as Murasaki Shikibu and Izumi Shikibu in the imperial court and was a patron of the composition of The Tale of Genji. In his later years he took Buddhist vows and built the Hōjōji temple. He died at 62.

A politician adept at intrigue who was also a cultured lover of waka poetry. The strategy of installing his daughters at court was coldly calculated, yet his diary Midō Kanpakuki (Diary of the Midō Regent) records his human emotions. Even at the height of power, he deepened his devotion to Buddhism.

The figure who embodied the golden age of regency politics. The "full moon poem" continues to appear in school textbooks today. As a patron of court culture, he supported the blossoming of Heian literature including The Tale of Genji. His diary, Midō Kanpakuki, is registered in the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme.