Kanrei

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Kanrei (管領, Kanrei^?) was a high political post in feudal Japan; it is usually translated as Shogun's Deputy. After 1337, there were actually two Kanrei, the Kyoto Kanrei and the Kantō Kanrei.

Originally, from 1219 until 1333, the post was synonymous with the Rokuhara Tandai, and was based in Kyoto. The Hōjō clan monopolized this post, and there were during this period two Deputies - a southern chief, and a northern chief. From 1336 to 1367, the Deputy was called Shitsuji. The first to hold this title was Kō no Moronao.

In 1367, Hosokawa Yoriyuki was chosen by a council to become Deputy (Kyoto Kanrei). In order to ensure the loyalty of his colleagues, the Hatakeyama and Shiba clans, he proposed that three families share the position of Kanrei, alternating between them every time a new appointment was needed. Thus was born the San-Kan or Three Kanrei. However, in 1379, Yoriyuki's actions attracted the resentment of certain powerful lords, who pressed for his dismissal. After that, the Kyoto Kanrei no longer held the responsibilities of Shogun's Deputy, and merely carried out his orders, in an advisory and executive position.

Following the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, and abolition of the Rokuhara Tandai position, Ashikaga Takauji created the post of Kantō Kanrei, or Shogun's Deputy in the East (Kantō generally refers to the area around and including Tokyo).

The first Kantō Kanrei was Ashikaga Yoshiakira, who took the post in 1337. Members of the Ashikaga clan held the post until 1439, when Kanrei Uesugi Norizane seized power in the wake of a rebellion by Ashikaga Mochiuji. The Kanrei had, up until this point, been a subordinate to the Kantō-kubō; Ashikaga Mochiuji would be the last kubō to hold any real power. Members of the Uesugi family dominated the post until 1552, when it was abolished.

The political organization of the Ashikaga shogunate was complex, and shifted from time to time. The responsibilities and official title of the Kanrei or Deputy changed a number of times, as other positions were created or abolished. In addition, they worked alongside a number of other posts, such as the Kyūshū Tandai, who represented the Shogun's interests and orders in the southernmost of the main islands.