Shikken

The was a titular post held by a member of the Hōjō clan, officially a regent of the shogunate, from 1199 to 1333, during the Kamakura period, and so he was head of the bakufu (shogunate). It was part of the era referred to as . During roughly the first half of that period, the shikken was the de facto military dictator of Japan (not including the independent Northern Fujiwara). The title of shikken was modified, as second in command to the Tokusō in 1256, but by the Muromachi period (1333–1573) the position, though not abolished, did not even figure in the top ranks. The position ceased to exist after the Muromachi period. Etymology The word shikken is the on'yomi reading of the combination of the two kanji characters and , each meaning "to hold (something in the hand, or a service or ceremony); to administer", "power, authority" respectively. Therefore, the word literally means "to hold power/authority". Shikken as supreme ruler (1199–1256) Though officially a regent for the shōgun in the Kamakura shogunate in Japan, on paper a shikken derived power from the shōgun, in reality the actual shōgun had been reduced to a figurehead in a similar marginalizing manner just as the emperor and imperial court earlier had been reduced to figureheads by the shōgun. Both the posts of shikken and tokusō were monopolized by the Hōjō clan.