kanpaku

Kanpaku, also read kampaku (関白), is a historical Japanese title meaning a regent who governs in the name of the Emperor. The office is part of the sekkan system, which also includes sesshō, a regent for a child emperor. The kampaku role was typically used when the emperor was an adult, while the sesshō regent cared for child emperors.

In practice, the kampaku provided the actual political leadership and governance at the court. The position was a key instrument for the Fujiwara clan to control the throne and shape imperial succession through court appointments and strategic marriages between Fujiwara families and the imperial line. The most influential kampaku included Fujiwara no Michinaga (late 10th to early 11th century), who presided over a period of intense Fujiwara influence. Later, other Fujiwara branches, especially the Kujō, Nijō, and Konoe families, frequently held the office.

The power of the kampaku waned with the rise of military rule and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate in the late 12th century. While the title continued to exist in name, its political authority diminished as real power moved to samurai leaders and shoguns. In later periods, kampaku became largely ceremonial within the imperial court, though the term remains a common reference in historical discussion of Heian governance.

The terms kampaku and sesshō are sometimes generalized as regents in English-language writing, but they denote distinct offices—one for adult emperors and one for child emperors—under the broader category of sekkan. The romanization kanpaku is an alternative rendering of the same title.