The Five Regent Houses (五摂家; ''go-sekke'') is a collective term for the five families of the

Fujiwara clan was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

that monopolized the

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

position of '' Sekkan'' in Japan from 1252 until 1868. The five houses are

Konoe Konoe (written: 近衛 or 近衞) is a Japanese surname. It is sometimes spelled "Konoye" based on historical kana usage. Notable people with the surname include: *, the 76th emperor of Japan *, Japanese politician and journalist *, Japanese politi ...

, Takatsukasa, Kujō, Ichijō, and Nijō, which were established during the split of the

Fujiwara Hokke The was one of the four houses of the powerful Fujiwara clan, the other three being the Nanke, Kyōke and Shikike. The Hokke were the ''de facto'' rulers of Japan through their hereditary position as imperial regents ( ''Sesshō'' and ''Kampaku ...

. After the abolition of the regency in 1868, the Five Regent Houses were all appointed

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

under the new

hereditary peerage The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...

Overview

Out of the four houses of the

, the

monopolized the regent position of '' Sekkan''. In the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

, the Hokke split into the Five Regent Houses,

, Takatsukasa, Kujō, Ichijō, and Nijō. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)
"Go-sekke" at p. 260
These families continued to monopolize the regency from 1252 until the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

in 1868. When the regency was abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration, a new

(''kazoku'') was established, and these houses were all appointed Duke. The Fujiwara

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

also had other families, but traditionally, only these five were eligible for regency. They were the most politically powerful families among the

kuge The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamakur ...

(court nobility).Nussbaum
"Kuge" at p. 570

References

External links

''Sekke kamon'' at Harimaya.com
5 {{Japan-hist-stub

Overview

See also

References

External links