Sekkanseiji - Regency politics

Japanese: 摂関政治 - せっかんせいじ

During the Heian period, the direct line of the Fujiwara clan monopolized the positions of regent and chancellor, acting in place of the emperor or assisting the emperor. This refers in particular to the political form that existed for about 100 years from when Fujiwara no Saneyori became chancellor shortly after Emperor Reizei ascended to the throne in 967 (Kōhō 4) until Emperor Gosanjō ascended to the throne in 1068 (Jiraku 4).

[Yoshihiko Hashimoto]

Established

Examples of members of the imperial family who became regents and governed the country include Prince Shotoku during the reign of Empress Suiko and Prince Nakano Oe during the reign of Saimei, but the first vassal to become regent was Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, the Grand Minister of State (866), followed by his adopted son Mototsune as chancellor (887). The Fujiwara clan, which played a central role in the establishment and promotion of the Ritsuryo system, had already been recognized as having a superior position to other clans at the beginning of the Heian period because they had "served as regents for successive generations" (Nihon Ki-ryaku). However, with the creation of the regent system for subjects, they finally gained a legal basis for monopolizing political power.

However, the terms regent and chancellor were not fixed titles from the beginning, but were both synonyms meaning regent, and it is said that an important aim of the original regent's edict was to grant the Grand Minister of State, who only had abstract provisions in the ryobun, the function of regent. Also, after Mototsune's death, there was a gap of nearly 40 years before his son Tadahira became regent, and after Tadahira's death, no regent was appointed for another 20 years, so regent politics had not yet become established. However, after Emperor Murakami died in 967 and the sickly Emperor Reizei ascended to the throne, and Tadahira's son Saneyori became the regent, it became common for a regent to be appointed while the emperor was a child and a regent after he came of age, and the status and nature of the regent gradually became more solidified. Furthermore, in 986 (Kanwa 2), when Emperor Ichijo's regent Fujiwara Kaneie resigned as Minister of the Right and was issued an imperial decree to become the senior rank of the Grand Minister of State, the regent's unique position was firmly established.

[Yoshihiko Hashimoto]

structure

In his diary Taiki, Fujiwara no Yorinaga, who lived in the late Heian period, wrote, "The regent is the emperor, while the chancellor may control all the government officials, but he is still a minister." This comprehensively describes the institutional differences between the regent and the chancellor. However, in reality, this was merely a formality, and in the regent system, both the regent and the chancellor held leading positions in national politics. Furthermore, the regent held a unique position in the Imperial Court that transcended the ryo-system of government positions. For example, the appointment of regents and chancellors was usually by imperial decree, but the effect of the decree was limited to one emperor's reign, and if a new emperor wanted to continue appointing the regent from the previous court, a new imperial decree had to be issued. This was a major difference from the Ritsuryo system positions below minister level, and signified that the regent was linked to the emperor personally and held a position that was closely linked to him, transcending the framework of the Ritsuryo system. On the other hand, with the establishment of the position of regent, the regent also took on the position of Fujiwara no choja (chief of the Fujiwara clan), which should have been held by the highest-ranking Fujiwara clan member, and thus came to hold the authority to control the members of the O-Fujiwara clan, which boasted outstanding influence in aristocratic society.

However, even though the regent government acted in the direction of expanding the aristocratic elements that were originally introduced into the ritsuryo system, its politics were still based on the ritsuryo system, and it did not create a new administrative system or organization. The regent's mandokoro (mandokoro) was also an institution for carrying out household and clan governance, and its indirect influence on national politics cannot be ignored, but there is no sign that it transformed into a national political institution itself. In addition, under the regent government, the Sato Dairi (village palace) flourished, and there is a theory that the Sato Dairi, or the regent's residence, became the place of politics, but in this period the establishment of the Sato Dairi was still temporary and short-lived, and even if the regent sometimes offered his residence as a temporary imperial palace, the regent would usually move to another place for that period, so it is not appropriate to consider the Sato Dairi = the regent's residence, and from this point of view as well, the so-called Mandokoro political theory does not hold up.

[Yoshihiko Hashimoto]

Regent and maternal relatives

Thus, the regent/chancellor stood at the head of all courtiers as "one person," commanding the various government offices and leading national politics, but what fundamentally supported this position was the relationship of maternal relatives with the emperor. The reason why Yoshifusa became the first commoner to become regent was largely due to the fact that he was the first member of the Fujiwara clan to achieve the position of maternal grandfather of an emperor while still alive. The reason why the position of regent went to the northern branch of the Fujiwara clan, particularly to Morosuke's Kujo line, was largely due to the relationship between Morosuke's daughter, Empress Anshi, and Emperor Murakami, and it is widely known that the heyday of regents Michinaga and Yorimichi was also the product of the maternal relatives system that Michinaga built.

However, this system, which depended on the uncertain factor of the birth and enthronement of a prince, had an inherent weakness that could easily collapse if luck were to turn its back on it. Despite the fervent hopes of Yorimichi, Norimichi and others, the daughter was unable to give birth to a prince, and finally in 1068 Emperor Gosanjo, who had no maternal relatives, ascended to the throne, causing a rapid decline in the power of the regents and ushering in the era of cloistered rule. Under cloistered rule, a succession of maternal relatives families appeared one after another to compete with the regents, but on the other hand, the regents formed themselves as a family with the exclusive hereditary right to the regent position, regardless of maternal relatives or not, and to that extent brought about lasting stability for the regents.

[Yoshihiko Hashimoto]

"Japanese History 5: The Aristocracy of the Dynasty" by Tsuchida Naochika (1965, Chuokoron-Shinsha)" ▽ "Complete Collection of Japanese History 5: The Century of Aristocracy" by Hashimoto Yoshihiko (1969, Kodansha)" ▽ "Illustrated Japanese Cultural History Series 5: The Heian Period, Part 2" revised edition edited by Kodama Kota et al. (1967, Shogakukan)" ▽ "Japanese History 6: The Sekkan Period" by Sakamoto Shozo (1974, Shogakukan)"

[Reference] | Regent | Regent

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

平安時代、藤原氏の嫡流が摂政(せっしょう)・関白(かんぱく)を独占し、天皇にかわって、あるいは天皇を補佐して行った政治。とくに967年（康保4）冷泉(れいぜい)天皇の践祚(せんそ)後まもなく藤原実頼(さねより)が関白となってから、1068年（治暦4）後三条(ごさんじょう)天皇が皇位につくまでの約100年間の政治形態をさしていう。

［橋本義彦］

成立

皇族が摂政となって政治を行った例は、推古(すいこ)天皇のときの聖徳太子や斉明(さいめい)朝の中大兄皇子(なかのおおえのおうじ)などにみられるが、臣下として摂政になったのは太政(だいじょう)大臣藤原良房(よしふさ)に始まり（866）、関白はその養嗣子(ようしし)基経(もとつね)に始まる（887）。律令(りつりょう)体制の成立と推進に中心的な役割を果たしてきた藤原氏は、平安時代初頭にはすでに「累代相い承(う)け摂政して絶えず」（日本紀略）との理由で、他氏に優越した地位を認められていたが、ついに人臣摂関の創始によって、政権独占の合法的な根拠を得たのである。

　もっとも摂政も関白も初めから職名として固定したものではなく、ともに執政を意味する同義語で、令(りょう)文に抽象的な規定しかない太政大臣に執政としての職能を付与するのが、当初の摂関の詔(みことのり)の重要なねらいといわれる。また基経の死後、その子忠平(ただひら)が摂政となるまで40年近い空白があり、忠平の死後また約20年間摂関の任命がなく、摂関政治はまだ定着するに至らなかった。しかし967年村上(むらかみ)天皇が崩じ、病弱の冷泉天皇が即位して、忠平の子実頼が関白となってからは、天皇幼少の間は摂政を、成人ののちは関白を置くのが常態となり、摂関の地位、性格もしだいに固まり、さらに986年（寛和2）一条(いちじょう)天皇の摂政藤原兼家(かねいえ)が右大臣辞任後、太政大臣の上席たるべき詔を賜るに及んで、摂関の独自の地位が確立するに至った。

［橋本義彦］

構造

平安後期の藤原頼長(よりなが)がその日記『台記(たいき)』に、「摂政はすなはち天子なり、関白は百官を己(おの)れにすぶるといへども、なほ臣の位に在り」と書いているのは、摂政と関白の制度上の差異を包括的に述べたものである。しかしそれも実際には形式的な面にとどまり、ことに摂関政治のうえでは、摂政も関白も国政の主導的地位にあったことに相違はない。そのうえ摂関は令(りょう)制官職機構を超越した独自の地位を廟堂(びょうどう)に占めた。たとえば摂政・関白の補任(ぶにん)は詔勅によるのを常とするが、その詔勅の効力は各天皇1代に限られ、新帝が引き続いて前朝の摂関を任用する場合には、改めてその意味の詔勅を下す必要があった。これは大臣以下の令制官職と大きく異なるところで、摂関が令制官職機構の枠を越えて、天皇個人に結び付き、それに密着した地位にあることを意味する。一面、摂関の地位の確立に伴い、藤原氏の氏人(うじびと)中官位第一の者がつくべき同氏長者(うじのちょうじゃ)も、摂関が兼帯するようになり、貴族社会に卓絶した勢力を誇る大藤原氏の氏人統率権をあわせもつに至った。

　しかし摂関政治は、律令制にもともと持ち込まれていた貴族制的要素を押し広げる方向に作用したとはいえ、その政治は依然として律令制機構に立脚して行われ、別個の新しい行政機構や組織をつくりだしたわけではない。摂関家の政所(まんどころ)も、家政、氏政を執り行う機関で、その間接的に国政に及ぼした影響は軽視できないが、それが国政機関そのものに転化した徴候は認められない。また摂関政治のもとでは里内裏(さとだいり)が盛行し、里内裏すなわち摂関邸が政治の場となったという説もあるが、この時代ではまだ里内裏の設置は臨時かつ短期間にとどまり、またときには摂関がその邸宅を仮皇居に提供することはあっても、摂関はその間、他所に転居するのが例であるから、里内裏＝摂関邸とするのは適切でなく、この面からも、いわゆる政所政治論は成り立たないであろう。

［橋本義彦］

摂関と外戚

こうして摂政・関白は「一(いち)の人」として全廷臣の首位にたち、百官諸司を指揮して国政を領導したのであるが、この地位を根底で支えたのは天皇との外戚(がいせき)関係である。良房が人臣最初の摂政となったのも、良房が藤原氏で初めて在世中に天皇の外祖父の地位を得たことによるところが大きい。また摂関の座が藤原氏北家(ほっけ)のうち、とくに師輔(もろすけ)の九条流に帰したのも、師輔の娘である皇后安子と村上天皇との関係によるところが大きく、道長(みちなが)、頼通(よりみち)の摂関全盛期も、道長の築きあげた外戚体制の所産であることは周知のところである。

　しかし、皇子の誕生とその即位という不確定な要素に依存するこの体制は、いったん運に見放されると、あえなく崩れ去る弱味を内包していた。頼通、教通(のりみち)らの念願もむなしく、その女子に皇子の出産をみることができず、ついに1068年には、外戚関係のない後三条(ごさんじょう)天皇が即位して、摂関の権勢は急速に後退し、院政の時代へと移っていった。そして院政のもとでは、摂関家と競合する外戚家が次々と現れたが、一面、摂関家は、外戚関係の有無にかかわらず、摂関を独占世襲する家柄として自己形成し、その限りでは摂関家の永続的安定をもたらしたのである。

［橋本義彦］

『土田直鎮著『日本の歴史 5　王朝の貴族』（1965・中央公論社）』▽『橋本義彦著『日本歴史全集 5　貴族の世紀』（1969・講談社）』▽『児玉幸多他編『図説日本文化史大系 5　平安時代　下』改訂新版（1967・小学館）』▽『坂本賞三著『日本の歴史 6　摂関時代』（1974・小学館）』

[参照項目] | 関白 | 摂政

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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