The was the head of the during and after the
Nara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...
and briefly under the
Meiji Constitution
The Constitution of the Empire of Japan ( Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in ...
. It was equivalent to the Chinese , or
Grand Preceptor
Grand Preceptor, also referred to as Grand Master, Section Cp2:192 C was the seniormost of the Three Ducal Ministers or Excellencies, the top three civil positions of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The other two were Grand Tutor and Grand P ...
.
History
Emperor Tenji's favorite son,
Prince Ōtomo, was the first to have been accorded the title of ''Daijō-daijin'' during the reign of his father. The
Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''Daijō-Daijin'' in the context of a central administrative body composed of the three ministers: the ''Daijō-daijin'' (Chancellor), the , and the . These positions were consolidated under the
Code of Taihō in 702.
At a time when the Emperor and the nobility held real power, the ''Daijō-daijin'' was the highest position in the ''Daijō-kan'', the central organ of the state. However, it was stipulated by law that no one could be appointed to this position if there was no suitable candidate, and the highest permanent position in the ''Daijō-kan'' was that of ''Sadaijin''.
In the Nara period (710–794), the title of ''Daijō-daijin'' was basically a
posthumous promotion. After the appointment of
Fujiwara Yoshifusa in 857 of the
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...
(794–1185), it became an almost permanent position, although not legally permanent, and many members of the
Fujiwara clan
The 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 ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...
were appointed to the position.
As the Fujiwara clan—which dominated the and —gained influence, the official government offices diminished in power. By the 10th century, ''Daijō-daijin'' had no power to speak of unless they were simultaneously ''Sesshō'' and ''Kampaku'', or otherwise supported by the Fujiwara. Although the position continued in name until 1885, by the beginning of the 12th century, the office was essentially powerless, and was often vacant for lengthy periods.
By the 10th century, the position of ''Daijō-daijin'' had become an honorary position with no real authority, but it continued to be held by members of the high aristocratic class.
In 1167,
Taira no Kiyomori established the first de facto
samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
government and became ''Daijō-daijin''. He was the first person to become ''Daijō-daijin'' despite being born into the warrior class.
During the
Kamakura period
The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...
(1185-1333), high-ranking positions at the ''Daijō-kan'', such as ''Sadaijin'', and ''Udaijin'', also became honorary titles bestowed by the emperor on members of the warrior class.
[左大臣.](_blank)
Kotobank At the time of
Oda Nobunaga
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...
's appointment as ''Udaijin'' during the
Azuchi-Momoyama period, the only members of the warrior class who had previously been appointed to imperial court posts higher than ''Udaijin'' were Taira no Kiyomori and
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as ''Daijō-daijin'' and
Ashikaga Yoshinori and
Ashikaga Yoshimasa
"Ashikaga Yoshimasa" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 du ...
as ''Sadaijin''.
Nobunaga was posthumously promoted to ''Daijō-daijin'' in 1582. Subsequently,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...
and
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...
were appointed ''Daijō-daijin''.
This prominent office was briefly resurrected under the
Meiji Constitution
The Constitution of the Empire of Japan ( Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in ...
with the appointment of
Sanjō Sanetomi in 1871, before being abolished completely in 1885 in favor of the newly created office of
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
.
Functions
The Chancellor presided over the Great Council of State, and controlled the officers of the state, in particular the ''Sadaijin'' and ''Udaijin'', as well as four great councillors and three minor councillors. The ministers in turn controlled other elements of the government.
List of the Chancellors of the Realm
See also
*
Kugyō
is the collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras. The term generally referred to the and court officials and denoted a court rank between First Rank and Third Rank un ...
*
Sesshō and Kampaku
In Japan, was a regent who was named to act on behalf of either a child emperor before his coming of age, or an empress regnant. The was theoretically a sort of chief advisor for the Emperor, but was in practice the title of both first secre ...
*
Kōkyū
is the section of a Japanese Imperial Palace called the where the Imperial Family and court ladies lived.
Many cultured women gathered as wives of Emperors, and court ladies, as well as the maids for these women; court officials often visited t ...
*
Kuge
The was a Japanese Aristocracy (class), aristocratic Social class, 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 ce ...
*
Imperial Household Agency
The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...
Notes
References
* Asai, T. (1985). ''Nyokan Tūkai''. Tokyo:
Kōdansha
is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning'', '' Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Young Magazine'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'', ...
.
* Dickson, Walter G. (1869). ''Japan: Being a Sketch of the History, Government and Officers of the Empire.'' London: W. Blackwood & Sons.
* .
* .
*
Kitabatake Chikafusa (1980)
359 ''
Jinnō Shōtōki'' (''A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns''). Varley, H. Paul, transl. New York:
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...
. .
*
Ozaki, Yukio (2001). ''The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan.''
ranslated by Fujiko Hara Princeton:
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...
. (cloth).
* .
* .
*
Sansom, George (1958). ''A History of Japan to 1334''. Stanford:
Stanford University Press
Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...
.
*
Screech, Timon (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822.'' London: Routledge Curzon.
*
Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834).
iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/
iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran">Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou
Annales des empereurs du Japon.'' Paris: Royal Asiatic Society ">Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daijo Daijin
Government of feudal Japan
Meiji Restoration
Japanese courtiers