Daijō-daijin

{{Short description|Japanese Imperial court position}}

{{Daijō-kan}}

{{expand Japanese|topic=bio|date=November 2024}}

The {{Nihongo|Daijō-daijin or Dajō-daijinKenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, Kenkyusha Ltd, {{ISBN |4-7674-2015-6}}|太政大臣|extra="Chancellor of the Realm"}} was the head of the {{nihongo3|Council of State|太政官|Daijō-kan}} during and after the Nara period and briefly under the Meiji Constitution. It was equivalent to the Chinese {{Nihongo|Tàishī|太師}}, or Grand Preceptor.

== 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.{{Sfn | Ponsonby-Fane | 1959 | p = 53}} 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 {{nihongo|Minister of the Left|左大臣|Sadaijin}}, and the {{nihongo3|Minister of the Right|右大臣|Udaijin}}. These positions were consolidated under the Code of Taihō in 702.{{Sfn | Hall | Brown | Yamamura | 1993 | p = [https://books.google.com/books?id=nCJwEDzyxNgC&pg=PA232 232]}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A4%AA%E6%94%BF%E5%A4%A7%E8%87%A3-93299|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208094940/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A4%AA%E6%94%BF%E5%A4%A7%E8%87%A3-93299|script-title=ja:太政大臣|language=ja|publisher=Kotobank|date=|archive-date=8 December 2023|access-date=29 February 2024}}

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 (794–1185), it became an almost permanent position, although not legally permanent, and many members of the Fujiwara clan were appointed to the position. As the Fujiwara clan—which dominated the {{nihongo3|Imperial Regent for Minor Emperors|摂政|Sesshō}} and {{nihongo3|Imperial Regent fo Adult Emperors|関白|Kampaku}}—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.{{Sfn | Dickson | Hazeltine | 1898 | p = [https://books.google.com/books?id=s9YeAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA60 60]}}

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 government and became Daijō-daijin. He was the first person to become Daijō-daijin despite being born into the warrior class.{{cite web|url=https://www.juku.st/info/entry/1477|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901051529/https://www.juku.st/info/entry/1477|script-title=ja:【日本史講師対象】武士史上初の太政大臣へ！～平清盛が目指したもの～|language=ja|publisher=Tomonokai|date=15 November 2015|archive-date=1 September 2017|access-date=14 March 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nhk.or.jp/kokokoza/nihonshi/assets/memo/memo_0000000570.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314105156/https://www.nhk.or.jp/kokokoza/nihonshi/assets/memo/memo_0000000570.pdf|script-title=ja:平氏政権の登場|language=ja|publisher=NHK|date=|archive-date=14 March 2024|access-date=14 March 2024}} During the Kamakura period (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.[https://web.archive.org/web/20231201022346/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%B7%A6%E5%A4%A7%E8%87%A3-69083 左大臣.] Kotobank At the time of Oda Nobunaga'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 as Sadaijin.{{cite web|url=https://www.itmedia.co.jp/business/articles/2001/17/news021_2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524091027/https://www.itmedia.co.jp/business/articles/2001/17/news021_2.html|script-title=ja:NHK大河ドラマ「麒麟がくる」に登場　古い権威を無視し、あえて将軍にならなかった織田信長のリーダー論|language=ja|publisher=IT Media|date=18 January 2020|archive-date=24 May 2022|access-date=10 March 2024}} Nobunaga was posthumously promoted to Daijō-daijin in 1582.{{cite web|url=https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219141624/https://japanknowledge.com/introduction/keyword.html?i=31|script-title=ja:織田信長|language=ja|publisher=Japan Knowledge|date=|archive-date=19 February 2024|access-date=10 March 2024}} Subsequently, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu were appointed Daijō-daijin.{{cite web|url=https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/opinion/16/122600033/010800002/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905041529/https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/opinion/16/122600033/010800002/|script-title=ja:秀吉はなぜ征夷大将軍ではなく、関白を選んだか|language=ja|publisher=Nikkei Business|date=14 January 2017|archive-date=5 September 2023|access-date=29 February 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.toshogu.or.jp/about/ieyasu.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201025602/https://www.toshogu.or.jp/about/ieyasu.php|script-title=ja:徳川家康公について|language=ja|website=Kunōzan Tōshō-gū|archive-date=1 February 2024|access-date=10 March 2024}}

This prominent office was briefly resurrected under the Meiji Constitution with the appointment of Sanjō Sanetomi in 1871, before being abolished completely in 1885 in favor of the newly created office of Prime Minister.