The rulers of Japan have been its Emperors, whether effectively or nominally, for its entire recorded history. These include the ancient legendary emperors, the attested but undated emperors of the Yamato period (early fifth to early 6th centuries), and the clearly dated emperors of 539 to the present. Political power was held in various eras by regents and shōguns, and since 1946 has been exercised exclusively by the Prime Minister as leader of a representative government.
| Period |
Nominal rulers |
Effective powers |
c
|
| Foundation–Heian period
|
Emperors,
660 BC (traditional)–present
|
Emperors
Soga clan, 530s–645
Fujiwara clan, 850s–1070
Minamoto clan, 960s–1192
Taira clan, 1160s–1185
|
Nara
Kyoto
|
| Kamakura period
|
Minamoto no Yoritomo, 1147–1199
Kamakura shōguns (successors of Minamoto clan), 1192–1333
Regents of Kamakura shogunate, 1203–1333
|
Kamakura
Kyoto
|
| Kenmu Restoration
|
Emperor Go-Daigo (descendant of Minamoto clan), 1333–1336
Ashikaga Takauji (descendant of Minamoto clan), 1333–1336
|
Kyoto
|
| Muromachi period
|
Ashikaga shōguns (successors of Kamakura shōguns), 1338–1568 (1573)
Northern Court Emperors, 1336–1392
Sakai Kubō (Hosokawa and Miyoshi clan), 1527–1532
Regional daimyōs, during Sengoku period
|
Kyoto
|
| Azuchi–Momoyama period
|
Oda Nobunaga, 1568–1582
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 1582–1598
Five Commissioners, 1585–1600
Council of Five Elders, 1598–1600
|
Azuchi
Kyoto
Osaka
|
| Edo period
|
Tokugawa shōguns (descendants of Minamoto clan), 1603–1867
Tairō of Tokugawa shogunate, 1636–1865
|
Edo (Tokyo)
|
| After Meiji restoration
|
Emperors, 1867–1947
Kido Takayoshi, 1867–1877
Saigō Takamori, 1867–1873
Ōkubo Toshimichi, 1867–1878
Prime Ministers, 1885–present
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, 1945–1952
|
Tokyo
|