After his family including his father and four brothers died suddenly in a smallpox outbreak in 737, he became the head of the Fujiwara clan and then was appointed to be an official of Kyobusho (the Ministry of War) on very short notice followed by Sangi (Royal Advisors).
天平9年（737年）における天然痘の猖獗によって父をはじめとする藤原四兄弟が急死すると、藤原氏の氏上となり、急遽兵部省1.兵部省に、続いて参議に任命された。