Insei - Insei

Japanese: 院政 - いんせい

A political system in which the retired emperor, or in other words the retired emperor, usually governed the country. The retired emperor's involvement in government affairs was already a common phenomenon from the Nara period, but it began with the retired emperor Shirakawa, who abdicated in 1086 (Otoku 3). The Gukansho, written in the early Kamakura period, describes how the retired emperor Gosanjo had intended to take over national affairs in place of the regent and chancellor after abdicating, but died shortly thereafter and was unable to do so, so the retired emperor Shirakawa followed his father's wishes and took over government affairs while in the retired state. Since then, this has been the commonly held belief that explains the establishment of the retired emperor system, but as there is little concrete evidence to back this up, it has rarely been held in recent years. Emperor Gosanjo had a plan to pass the Imperial throne from Prince Sadahito (Emperor Shirakawa), who was born to the Fujiwara clan, to Prince Sanehito, who was born to the Genji clan, and then to Prince Sukehito, his full brother. It is believed that the primary reason for the Emperor's abdication was to first abdicate to Prince Sadahito and then to make Prince Sanehito the Crown Prince, in order to facilitate the realization of this plan. Emperor Shirakawa's abdication is also strongly linked to this issue of Imperial succession. The direct motive for his abdication was believed to be to ensure that the Imperial line would be passed on to his descendants after the death of Crown Prince Sanehito in 1085 (Otoku 2), by deposing his younger brother Prince Sukehito and placing his son Prince Taruhito (Emperor Horikawa) on the throne. However, even after abdicating, they were forced to protect and look after the new emperor, who was still a child, and so naturally they became involved in government affairs, which gradually became the norm and became established as a form of government that was later named cloistered government. Cloistered government nominally continued until the retired emperor Kokaku at the end of the Edo period, but it only functioned as a political power for 250 years until the cloistered government of Go-Uda at the end of the Kamakura period, which can be divided into three periods, marked by the Hogen Rebellion (1156) and the Jōkyū Rebellion (1221).

[Yoshihiko Hashimoto]

1st Period

The first period was the Shirakawa-Toba Insei, a time when the In's political power led the overall government of the country. The Retired Emperor Shirakawa's reign was a continuation of the direct rule of the two emperors Gosanjo and Shirakawa, who had taken control of national affairs from the hands of the regents and handed it back to the Emperor. However, while the Emperor, the regent, and the chancellor had close relationships both in terms of systems and customs, the Retired Emperor was not bound by them at all, giving the In's government a strong autocratic color. Government affairs were run almost entirely according to the existing structures and methods, but the In's were behind the scenes, giving the final decisions and instructions, and leading the government of the country. The In's close aides, who belonged to the middle class and below, played an active role as the In's hands and feet. As powerful Inno-shi, they controlled the practical affairs of the In's office, and as constant attendants to the In's close associates, they relayed petitions from various people and passed on the In's instructions. Furthermore, after the start of the Insei system, the Innocho (Incho) structure was expanded and strengthened, samurai were also incorporated into it, and it became the base of the In's political power, but at this time there was no evidence that the Innocho was directly involved in national politics or became an institution for handling government affairs. Innocho documents (kudashi-bumi and cho) from this period, written in the form of private letters by the In's close aides at the In's command, contained many documents related to national politics, but this is also supported by the fact that they were mainly related to the affairs of the Incho and did not include any documents covering national politics in general. The explanation that Insei was a form of politics that was carried out by manipulating the old Daijokan organization with Innocho decrees is based on these facts, and it is not appropriate to simply describe Insei as Incho politics.

[Yoshihiko Hashimoto]

Second Period

The second period was the Insei period under Goshirakawa and Gotoba, which together lasted for around 60 years, excluding the short period of direct rule. This period was the establishment of the samurai government, overlapping with the so-called Taira era and the era of the Minamoto shoguns, and could be described as a period of conflict between the imperial and military governments. The initiative in national politics gradually shifted to the hands of the samurai forces, who had become aware of their own strength during the Hogen and Heiji Rebellions, but on the other hand, the In became a rallying point for the old forces of aristocrats, shrines and temples, etc., who opposed the samurai forces, and to that extent this increased and stabilized the authority of the In. This is why the Incho, which was originally a household government institution attached to the In, came to play a part in directly managing national politics. Notable examples include the Imperial Court's dispatch of an envoy to Dazaifu in Kyushu in 1181 (the first year of the Youwa period) to pursue and kill Kikuchi Takanao, and the Imperial Court's dispatch of a letter to Fujiwara Hidehira in Oshu the following year to pursue and kill Minamoto no Yoritomo. However, the conflict between the imperial and military governments, with repeated compromises and disputes, gradually progressed to a breakdown, and finally the Jōkyū War dealt a decisive blow to the court noble government, establishing the superiority of the samurai government.

[Yoshihiko Hashimoto]

Third Period

The third period was from the Gotakakura Insei period, which began in 1221 (Jokyu 3), to the Gouda Insei period, which ended in 1321 (Genko 1), and lasted for about 80 years during this century. Under the supervision and protection of the samurai government, the Insei played a certain role, controlling the court noble society, including temples and shrines. In particular, during the Gosaga Insei period, which lasted for 27 years, a system was established in which the Hyojoshu and Denso were the two main pillars of government affairs, and the Innofudono was given an important role, mainly investigating miscellaneous lawsuits and conducting preliminary investigations. However, on the other hand, important issues related to national politics in general, as well as important personnel decisions within the court noble government, such as the succession to the throne, were in fact heavily influenced by the wishes of the samurai government. During the Nanboku-cho period, the Northern Court once again implemented cloistered government, and activities such as the Bunden-Tei-chu movement are known, but as the Muromachi Shogunate stabilized, national politics became increasingly unified under the military government, and the substance of cloistered government was further lost. Next, the names "reign" and "government" were used for each of the retired emperors of the Edo period, starting with Emperor Goyozei, but it goes without saying that these terms had no function in national politics. Then, with the death of Emperor Kokaku in 1840 (Tenpo 11), the name of cloistered government completely disappeared.

The Insei period most accurately refers to the 70-year period of the Insei period under the Shirakawa and Toba cloistered rulers, but the approximately 20-year period of direct rule by Emperors Gosanjo and Shirakawa should be considered the prehistory of the Insei period, and considering the immaturity of the Taira clan government as a military government, it is generally believed that the Insei period includes the period up to the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate.

[Yoshihiko Hashimoto]

"Imperial Household Agency Archives and Mausolea Department, 'Imperial Household System Historical Materials: Retired Emperor 3' (1980, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)"

[Reference] | Inshi | Incho

List of Insei
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List of Insei

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

院すなわち上皇の執政を常態とする政治形態。上皇がときとして政務に関与したことは、すでに奈良時代からしばしばみられた現象であるが、上皇の執政が常態となったのは、1086年（応徳3）譲位した白河上皇(しらかわじょうこう)に始まる。鎌倉初期に著された『愚管抄(ぐかんしょう)』に、後三条上皇(ごさんじょうじょうこう)は譲位後摂政(せっしょう)、関白(かんぱく)にかわって国政をとる意向であったが、まもなく崩御してそれを果たさなかったので、白河上皇が父帝の遺志を継いで院中に政務をとったと記述して以来、これによって院政の成立を説明するのが通説とされたが、この説は具体的に裏づける明確な根拠に乏しいため、近年ではほとんど行われなくなった。後三条天皇は皇位を、藤原氏所生の貞仁(さだひと)親王（白河天皇）から源氏所生の実仁(さねひと)親王、さらにはその同母弟輔仁(すけひと)親王に伝える構想を抱いていたらしく、まず貞仁親王に位を譲り、実仁親王を東宮にたてて、その構想の実現を促進するのが、天皇の譲位の第一の理由であったと考えられる。そして白河天皇の譲位も、この皇位継承問題に強く結び付いている。その譲位の直接の動機は、1085年（応徳2）皇太弟実仁親王が病死した後を受け、皇弟輔仁親王を退けて、皇子善仁(たるひと)親王（堀河天皇(ほりかわてんのう)）を皇位につけ、皇統が確実に子孫に伝えられるのを見定めることにあったと思われる。しかし譲位後も幼少の新帝を擁護後見する必要に迫られ、おのずと政務に関与するようになり、しだいにそれが常態化して一つの政治形態に固定し、後世それを院政と名づけたのである。院政は名目的には江戸末期の光格上皇(こうかくじょうこう)まで続いたが、いちおう政権としての機能を保ったのは、鎌倉末期の後宇多(ごうだ)院政までの250年間で、それは保元(ほうげん)の乱（1156）と承久(じょうきゅう)の乱（1221）を境として3期に分けられる。

［橋本義彦］

第1期

第1期は白河・鳥羽(とば)院政で、院の政治権力が国政全般を主導した時期である。白河上皇の執政は、国政の主導権を摂関(せっかん)の手から天皇のもとに取り返した後三条、白河2代の親政を継承するものであったが、天皇と摂政、関白とは、制度的にも慣習的にも密接な関係をもったのに対し、それらにまったく拘束されない上皇の立場は、院政に専制的な色彩を強く与えた。政務はほぼ在来の機構と方式によって運営されたが、院はその背後にあって最終的な裁断と指示を与え、国政を領導したのである。そしてその院の手足となって活躍したのが、中流以下の貴族層に属する院近臣(いんのきんしん)である。彼らは有力院司として院中の実務を掌握するとともに、院の側近に常侍して諸人の奏請を取り次ぎ、院の指示を下達した。また院政開始以来、院庁(いんのちょう)の機構は拡充強化され、武士をもそのなかに組み入れて、院の政治権力の拠点としたが、この時期ではまだ院庁が直接国政に関与し、政務処理の機関となった事実はない。院の側近が命を奉じて書く私的な書状形式の院宣には、国政に関する内容のものも数多く含まれたが、この時期の院庁文書（下文(くだしぶみ)、牒(ちょう)）はもっぱら院中の諸務に関するもので、国政一般にわたるものがないのもそれを裏づける。院政は院宣をもって旧来の太政官(だいじょうかん)組織を動かすことにより遂行された政治であるとする説明も、こうした事実を根拠としており、院政を単純に院庁政治と表現するのは適切でない。

［橋本義彦］

第2期

第2期は後白河(ごしらかわ)・後鳥羽(ごとば)院政で、短期間の親政期を除いても、両者あわせて約60年に及ぶ。この時期はあたかも武家政権の成立期にあたり、いわゆる平氏時代と源氏将軍時代とに重なり、公武両政権の対立期といってよい。国政の主導権は、保元・平治の乱で実力を自覚した武士勢力の手にしだいに移っていったが、反面、院は武士勢力に対抗する貴族、社寺などの旧勢力の結集点となり、その限りでは院の権威を高め、安定させた。もともと院に付属する家政機関であった院庁が、直接国政運営の一端を担うようになったのもそのためである。1181年（養和1）九州大宰府(だざいふ)に菊池高直(きくちたかなお)追討の宣旨を下すにあたり、院庁から使者を派遣したこと、その翌々年奥州の藤原秀衡(ふじわらのひでひら)に源頼朝(みなもとのよりとも)追討の院庁下文を遣わしたことなどは、その顕著な例である。しかし公武両政権の対立は妥協と抗争を繰り返しながら、しだいに破局へ進み、ついに承久の乱によって公家(くげ)政権は決定的な打撃を被り、武家政権の優位が確立した。

［橋本義彦］

第3期

第3期は1221年（承久3）に始まる後高倉(ごたかくら)院政から、1321年（元亨1）に終わる後宇多(ごうだ)院政までをいい、この1世紀間に約80年間院政が行われた。その院政は武家政権の監視と保障のもとで、社寺を含む公家社会を支配し、一定の役割を果たしたのである。なかでも27年間に及んだ後嵯峨(ごさが)院政では、評定衆(ひょうじょうしゅう)と伝奏を2本の柱として政務を処理する体制が確立し、院文殿(いんのふどの)も雑訴の調査、予審などを中心とする重要な役割を与えられた。しかし一面、国政一般にかかわる重要問題はもちろん、皇位継承をはじめ、公家政権内部の重要人事なども、実際には武家政権の意向に大きく左右されたのである。南北朝時代に入って、北朝の朝廷ではふたたび院政が行われ、文殿庭中などの動きも知られるが、室町幕府が安定するに伴い、武家政権による国政の一本化が進み、院政の実質はさらに失われていった。ついで後陽成上皇(ごようぜいじょうこう)以下の江戸時代の各上皇についても、当時「御治世」とか「御政務」の称が用いられたが、それに国政上の機能が認められないことはいうまでもない。そして1840年（天保11）光格上皇の崩御とともに、院政の名目もまったく消滅したのである。

　なお院政時代とは、白河・鳥羽院政70年間をさすのがもっとも的確であるが、約20年にわたる後三条・白河天皇親政期は院政前史として位置づけられるべきであろうし、平氏政権の武家政権としての未熟さを考慮して、鎌倉幕府成立までを院政時代に含める見解も一般に行われている。

［橋本義彦］

『宮内庁書陵部編『皇室制度史料　太上天皇3』（1980・吉川弘文館）』

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