Tairō (Japanese: 大老, "great elder")[1] was a high-ranking official position in the Tokugawa shogunate government of Japan, roughly comparable to the office of prime minister.[2] The tairō presided over the governing rōjū council in the event of an emergency. A tairō was nominated from among the fudai daimyōs, who worked closely with the Tokugawa traditionally.[3] Generally, the office holder was the shogunate's chief policymaker, and provided Japan with a capable temporary leader in the absence of a shōgun, or in the event that the shōgun was incapacitated.
| Name | From | To | Shogun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sakai Tadayo[4] | March 12, 1636 | March 19, 1636 | Tokugawa Iemitsu |
| Doi Toshikatsu[4] | November 7, 1638 | July 10, 1644 | Tokugawa Iemitsu |
| Sakai Tadakatsu[4] | November 7, 1638 | May 26, 1656 | Tokugawa Iemitsu Tokugawa Ietsuna |
| Sakai Tadakiyo[5] | March 29, 1666 | December 9, 1680 | Tokugawa Ietsuna |
| Ii Naozumi | November 19, 1668 | January 3, 1676 | Tokugawa Ietsuna |
| Hotta Masatoshi[6] | November 12, 1681 | August 28, 1684 | Tokugawa Tsunayoshi |
| Ii Naooki | June 13, 1696 | March 2, 1700 | Tokugawa Tsunayoshi |
| Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu[7] | January 11, 1706 | June 3, 1709 | Tokugawa Tsunayoshi |
| Ii Naooki | February 13, 1711 | February 23, 1714 | Tokugawa Ienobu Tokugawa Ietsugu |
| Ii Naoyuki | November 28, 1784 | September 1, 1787 | Tokugawa Ieharu Tokugawa Ienari |
| Ii Naoaki | December 28, 1835 | May 13, 1841 | Tokugawa Ienari Tokugawa Ieyoshi |
| Ii Naosuke[8] | April 23, 1858 | March 24, 1860 | Tokugawa Iesada Tokugawa Iemochi |
| Sakai Tadashige | February 1, 1865 | November 12, 1865 | Tokugawa Iemochi |