Fujiwara Regency Politics

Timeline

1. 858–872Heian-kyō · Kyoto CityFujiwara no Yoshifusa served as regent and Fujiwara no Mototsune continued the regency system; the Fujiwara Hokke began to control court government as guardians of child emperors, laying the institutional foundation of regency politics.
2. 887–969Heian-kyō · Kyoto CityAfter Fujiwara no Mototsune became kampaku, regent and kampaku together were called "sekkan" (regency), becoming the highest advisory positions hereditarily monopolized by the Fujiwara; Fujiwara no Michinaga's father Fujiwara no Kanemasa and others strengthened the strategy of marriage alliances through imperial consorts.
3. 1021–1030Heian-kyō (Fujiwara no Michinaga's residence and the court) · Kyoto CityFujiwara no Michinaga long held court government as an imperial in-law; his daughters entered the palace as empresses, and his grandsons succeeded one another to the throne; holding both the regency and the position of Grand Minister of State, he built Hōshō-ji temple and others, and regency politics reached the peak of power and glory.
4. 1086–1156Heian-kyō · Kyoto CityCloistered rule by retired emperors weakened the regency house's monopoly on court government, and warrior groups intervened in court struggles; after the Hōgen Disturbance the military houses grew powerful, and Fujiwara regency politics effectively ended as a system of powerful houses in the Heian period.