The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. The correct title is Sesshō and Kampaku.
In Japan, the Sesshō (摂政) was a title given to a regent who was named to assist an emperor when the emperor was still a child, before the coming of age, or female. The Kampaku (関白) was the title of a regent who assists an adult emperor. The two were collectively known as Sekkan (摂関).
The Sesshō and Kampaku had held the practical powers of the ruling Emperor, conducting cloistered rule until shogunates took over the power from them. Most empresses had Sesshō with some exceptions in the ancient period.
In earlier only members of the imperial family could be appointed to Sessho. Kojiki reported the Emperor Ōjin was assisted by his mother the empress Jingū, but it is doubtful if it is a historical fact. The first historical Sessho was Prince Shōtoku who assisted the empress Suiko.
The Fujiwara clan was the primary holders of the Kampaku and Sesshō titles. More precisely those title was held by the Fujiwara Hokke (Fujiwara north family) and its decendants, to which Fujiwara no Yoshifusa belonged. In 844 Fujiwara no Yoshifusa became Sesshō. He was the first Sesshō who didn't belong to the imperial house. In 876Fujiwara no Mototsune, the nephew and adopted son of Yoshifusa, was appointed to the newly created office Kampaku. After Fujiwara no Michinaga and Fujiwara no Yorimichi, their decendants held those two office exclusively In 12th century there were five families among the descendants of Yorimichi called Sekke. Until 1868 those five families held those title exclusively with two exceptions of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his nephew Toyotomi Hidetsugu.
Sekke consisted in five families: Konoe family, Kujō family, Ichijō family, Takatsukasa family and Nijō family. Both Konoe clan and Kujō clan were derived from Fujiwra no Tadamichi, a descendant of Yorimichi. Other three families were derived from one of thsoe two families.
A retired kampaku is called Taikō(太閤), which commonly came to refer to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Early examples were the two new posts created during the early 9th century: kurodo, a kind of secretary and archivist to the emperor, and kebiishi, the imperial police, who ultimately developed powers to investigate crimes and determine punishments.
The original role of the sessho was to attend to affairs of state during the minority of the emperor, while the kampaku's role was to attend to state matters for the emperor even after he had come of age.
From the 10th century and through the 11th, successive generations of the northern branch of the Fujiwara clan continued to control the nation's government by monopolizing the posts of sessho and kampaku, and the wealth that poured into their coffers enabled them to lead lives of the greatest brilliance.
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