sadaijin
Sadaijin (左大臣), most commonly translated as "Minister of the Left", was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was created in 702 as part of the Daijō-kan (State Department) structure, by the Taihō Code.
The sadaijin was the Senior Minister of State, overseeing all branches of the Department of State (Daijō-kan) with the Udaijin (the Minister of the Right) as his deputy.
Within the Daijō-kan, the sadaijin was second only to the Daijō Daijin (the Great Minister, or Chancellor of the Realm) in power and influence. Frequently, a member of the Fujiwara family would take the position in order to help justify and exercise the power and influence the family held.
The post of sadaijin, along with the rest of the Daijō-kan structure, gradually lost power over the 10th and 11th centuries, as the Fujiwara came to dominate politics more and more. The system was essentially powerless by the end of the 12th century, when the Minamoto, a warrior clan, seized control of the country from the court aristocracy (kuge). However, it is not entirely clear when the Daijō-kan system was formally dismantled prior to the Meiji era.
References
- Sansom, George (1958). A History of Japan to 1334. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
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