大老(tairou)
English translations: senior counsellor, etc.
In 1598 Toyotomi Hideyoshi appointed five major lords as tairô to govern the country during the minority of his son Hideyori. The go-tairô 五大老 were headed by Tokugawa Ieyasu.
During the Edo period, the tairô was the chief official under the shogun. The post was often unfilled, however. The most famous holder of the post was II Naosuke.
