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.
{| class="wikitable"
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!Period!!Nominal rulers!!Effective powers!!c
|-
|Foundation–Heian period
|rowspan="11"|Emperors,<br />660 BC (traditional)–present
|Emperors<br />Soga clan, 530s–645<br />Fujiwara clan, 850s–1070<br />Minamoto clan, 960s–1192<br />Taira clan, 1160s–1185
|Nara<br />Kyoto
|-
|Kamakura period
|Minamoto no Yoritomo, 1147–1199
Kamakura shōguns (successors of Minamoto clan), 1192–1333<br />Regents of Kamakura shogunate, 1203–1333
|Kamakura<br />Kyoto
|-
|Kenmu Restoration
|Emperor Go-Daigo (descendant of Minamoto clan), 1333–1336<br />Ashikaga Takauji (descendant of Minamoto clan), 1333–1336
|Kyoto
|-
|Muromachi period
|Ashikaga shōguns (successors of Kamakura shōguns), 1338–1568 (1573)<br />Northern Court Emperors, 1336–1392<br />Sakai Kubō (Hosokawa and Miyoshi clan), 1527–1532<br />Regional daimyōs, during Sengoku period
|Kyoto
|-
|Azuchi–Momoyama period
|Oda Nobunaga, 1568–1582<br />Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 1582–1598<br />Five Commissioners, 1585–1600<br />Council of Five Elders, 1598–1600
|Azuchi<br />Kyoto<br />Osaka
|-
|Edo period
|Tokugawa shōguns (descendants of Minamoto clan), 1603–1867<br />Tairō of Tokugawa shogunate, 1636–1865
|Edo (Tokyo)
|-
|After Meiji restoration
|Emperors, 1867–1947<br />Kido Takayoshi, 1867–1877<br />Saigō Takamori, 1867–1873<br />Ōkubo Toshimichi, 1867–1878<br />Prime Ministers, 1885–present<br />Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, 1945–1952
|Tokyo
|}
See also
- Sessho and Kampaku
- History of Japan
- Lists of incumbents