He was a son of Junior Middle Executive Officer of the Right FUJIWARA no Mitsufusa, and built his second residence at Yoshida, the eastern suburb of Kyoto, so he was called 'Yoshida Junior Middle Councillor' and became a founder of the Yohisda family.
権右中弁藤原光房の子で、京都の東郊・吉田に別邸を建てたため、「吉田権中納言」と呼ばれ、吉田家の祖となった。