Konoe no daisho (近衛大将)
Konoe no daisho (Major Captain of the Palace Guards) is one of the government posts in the ritsuryo system. Konoe no daisho is Ryoge no kan (a post outside the original Ritsuryo code created by Imperial edicts). One Konoe no daisho was allocated to each of the left and right divisions to manage Sayu Konoefu (the left and right divisions of the Inner Palace Guards). Konoe no daisho is equivalent to Jusanmi (Junior Third Rank), but it was considered higher than the actual rank. Usually, a minister or Dainagon (a major counselor) additionally held this post, therefore its rank was often equivalent to or higher than Jusanmi.
Konoe no daisho was the highest position among the permanent military officers. FUJIWARA no Nobuyori initiated the Heiji War wanting to hold the position of both a minister and Daisho (a major captain), and MINAMOTO no Sanetomo wanted to be Sadaisho (Major Captain the Left Division of Inner Palace Guards) which was higher than Udaisho (Major Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards). After the Muromachi period, Seiitaishogun (commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force against the barbarians, great, unifying leader) often held Konoe no daisho as well. In the Edo period, Sekke (line of regents and advisers) monopolized the position of Sakonoe no daisho, and even in the case of Tokugawa Shoguns, only 4 of them were assigned to Sakonoe no daisho exceptionally (other Tokugawa Shoguns and the Seiga family [one of the highest court noble families in Japan at that time] or lower were only assigned to Ukonoe no daisho).