Ōtomo no Yakamochi (大伴 家持, 2 April 718 – 1 May 785) was a Japanese statesman and waka poet in the Nara period.

He was one of the Man'yō no Go-taika, the five great poets of his time,[1] and was part of Fujiwara no Kintō's Thirty-six Poetry Immortals (三十六歌仙, sanjūrokkasen).

They are said to have descended from Ame-no-Oshihi-no-Mikoto, who served as a precursor to Amaterasu's grandson, Ninigi no Mikoto, and together with the Monobe clan were responsible for the military affairs of the Yamato kingdom and were also active in politics.

[1] The Ōtomo clan were warriors and bureaucrats in the Yamato Court, and Yakamochi served as a provincial governor (国司, kokushi) in several provinces.

[3] In 738, he met Udoneri, and in 740 at the behest of Emperor Shōmu went to Dazaifu (Kyūshū) to suppress the rebellion of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu.

Afterwards Yoshitsugu took sole responsibility for the affair, but due to suspicions about Yakamochi's involvement he was transferred to the governorship of Satsuma Province.

Soon after his death, Fujiwara no Tanetsugu was assassinated; suspecting that Yakamochi was involved in the affair, his burial was denied and he was posthumously disgraced and excommunicated.