Fujiwara no Akinaka (藤原 顕仲; 1059–1129) was a Japanese nobleman and waka poet of the Heian period.

Fujiwara no Akinaka was born in Kōhei 2 (1059 in the Gregorian calendar).^[1] He was the third son of Sukenaka (ja),^[1] a member of the Saneyori lineage (実頼流) of the Northern Branch of the Fujiwara clan.^[2] He was later adopted by Fujiwara no Motoie (died 1093) [ja],^[1] the governor of Mutsu Province.^[3] His mother was a daughter of Minamoto no Tsuneyori [ja].^[2]

He is known as Suke Akinaka (佐顕仲)^[1] to distinguish him from Minamoto no Akinaka [ja].^[2] He had various other names,^[1] such as Katsumata no Hyōe no Suke (勝間田兵衛佐),^[1] by which name the Fukuro-zōshi [ja] calls him.^[2] The latter name is a derived from a combination of his court position, Sahyōe-no-suke, and a famous poem he composed at the Shirakawa-den Gyokai (白河殿御会) on Katsumata Pond (勝間田池 Katsumata-no-ike):^[2]

He was close friends with Minamoto no Toshiyori and Fujiwara no Mototoshi,^[2] and in addition to being a respected poet he was also known for his skill as a calligrapher and musician,^[2] but was unable to attain success due to his relatively low birth.^[2] By the end of his career, he had risen to the Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade.^[1] He held the position of Assistant Head of Left Military Guards (左兵衛佐 sahyōe-no-suke).^[1]

According to the Chūyūki [ja],^[2] Akinaka died on the third day of the first month of Daiji 4 (31 January 1129).^[1] He was 71 (by Japanese reckoning).^[2]

The first uta-awase contest in which he took part was the Sakon no Gon-Chūjō Toshitada Ason-ke Uta-awase (左近権中将俊忠朝臣家歌合) in Chōji 1 (1104).^[2] He took part in the following poetic gatherings:

• the Ungo-ji Kechien-kyō Goen Uta-awase (雲居寺結縁経後宴歌合) in Eikyū 4 (1116);^[2]
• the Hitomaro-eigu held by Fujiwara no Akisue in Gen'ei 1 (1118);^[2] and
• the Naidaijin-ke Uta-awase (内大臣家歌合) that was held over three sessions between Gen'ei 1 and Gen'ei 2 (1119).^[2]

He was one of the poets of the Horikawa-in Ontoki Hyakushu Waka (堀河院御時百首和歌).^[1]

According to the Yakumo Mishō [ja],^[2] he was disappointed with the Kin'yōshū,^[1] and in Daiji 1 (1126)^[2] compiled his own anthology, the Ryōgyokushū (良玉集),^[1] which is no longer extant.^[1]

18 of his poems were included in imperial anthologies from the Kin'yōshū on.^[1]

One famous poem of his, in which he laments his lack of success at court, is the following from the first book of miscellaneous poems in the Kin'yōshū:^[2]