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.

PeriodNominal rulersEffective powerscFoundation–Heian periodEmperors,660 BC (traditional)–presentEmperorsSoga clan, 530s–645Fujiwara clan, 850s–1070Minamoto clan, 960s–1192Taira clan, 1160s–1185NaraKyotoKamakura periodMinamoto no Yoritomo, 1147–1199 Kamakura shōguns (successors of Minamoto clan), 1192–1333Regents of Kamakura shogunate, 1203–1333KamakuraKyotoKenmu RestorationEmperor Go-Daigo (descendant of Minamoto clan), 1333–1336Ashikaga Takauji (descendant of Minamoto clan), 1333–1336KyotoMuromachi periodAshikaga shōguns (successors of Kamakura shōguns), 1338–1568 (1573)Northern Court Emperors, 1336–1392Sakai Kubō (Hosokawa and Miyoshi clan), 1527–1532Regional daimyōs, during Sengoku periodKyotoAzuchi–Momoyama periodOda Nobunaga, 1568–1582Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 1582–1598Five Commissioners, 1585–1600Council of Five Elders, 1598–1600AzuchiKyotoOsakaEdo periodTokugawa shōguns (descendants of Minamoto clan), 1603–1867Tairō of Tokugawa shogunate, 1636–1865Edo (Tokyo)After Meiji restorationEmperors, 1867–1947Kido Takayoshi, 1867–1877Saigō Takamori, 1867–1873Ōkubo Toshimichi, 1867–1878Prime Ministers, 1885–presentSupreme Commander of the Allied Powers, 1945–1952Tokyo

See also

Sessho and Kampaku History of Japan Lists of incumbents