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Cloistered Rule is an distinct feature of Japanese history and politics
and sometimes in business. In almost all, governments and administrations
units, the nominal ruler and governor has no practical power, and instead,
regents and any other kind of advisors have actual power. The titles used to
do cloistered rule are:
- Sodanyaku - advisors in banks.
- Sessho and Kampaku - regents in Imperial Court in Kyoto.
- Shikken - in the Kamakura shogunate
- Kanrei - in the Ashikaga shogunate
- Tairo and Karo - in the Tokugawa shogunate
It was a process used by some Emperors of Japan by which they would
ostensibly retire to a monastery and hand over power to a successor, but
continue to exert power and influence from behind the scenes. Retired
emperors are called Jyoko (上皇)
The first retired emperor who exercised this rule in Japan was Empress
Jito of Japan.
The term retired emperor is used primarily when discussing a period in
Japanese history when this was a common practice; a retired emperor could
have more influence than when he had been on the throne, because he retained
the prestige of the title and was freer to speak publicly.
Although the actual influence of cloistered rule may have been
exaggerated by some historians, it must be seen in the context of the
increasing dominance over the aristocracy by the warrior class. In later
eras, an emperor would be overshadowed by his shogun as surely as if there
was still a cloistered emperor present.
Famous emperors who adopted cloistered rule:
- Shirakawa (1053-1129, r. 1073-1087 and cloistered rule 1086-1129)
- Toba (1103-1156, r. 1107-1123 and cloistered rule 1129-1156)
- Go-Shirakawa (1127-1192, r. 1155-1158 and cloistered rule 1158-1192)
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