Kanrei (管領) or, more rarely, kanryō, was a high political post in feudal Japan; it is usually translated as shōgun's deputy. After 1349, there were actually two Kanrei, the Kyoto Kanrei and the Kantō Kanrei. But originally from 1219 until 1333, the post was synonymous with the Rokuhara Tandai,[1] and was based in Kyoto. The Hōjō clan monopolized this post, and there were during this period two Deputies – a southern chief, and a northern chief. From 1336 to 1367, the Deputy was called Shitsuji (執事). The first to hold this title was Kō no Moronao.
Following the fall of the Kamakura shogunate and abolition of the Rokuhara Tandai position, both occurring in 1333, Ashikaga Takauji created the post of Kantō Kanrei, or Shogun's Deputy in the East (Kantō generally refers to the area around and including modern Tokyo).
In 1367, Hosokawa Yoriyuki was chosen by a council to become Deputy (Kyoto Kanrei). In order to ensure the loyalty of his colleagues, the Hatakeyama and Shiba clans, he proposed that three families share the position of Kanrei, alternating between them every time a new appointment was needed. Thus was born the San-Kan or Three Kanrei. However, in 1379, Yoriyuki's actions attracted the resentment of certain powerful lords, who pressed for his dismissal. After that, the Kyoto Kanrei no longer held the responsibilities of Shogun's Deputy, and merely carried out his orders in an advisory and executive position.