Born in Kyoto, Sanjō was the son of NaidaijinSanjō Sanetsumu. He held several important posts in Court and became a central figure in the anti-Western, anti-Tokugawa Sonnō Jōi ("Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarian") movement.
He served until the abolition of the daijōkan system in 1885. After the Cabinet system was established, he became Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan.
In 1889, when Prime MinisterKuroda Kiyotaka and his cabinet resigned en masse, Emperor Meiji only accepted Kuroda’s resignation and formally invited Sanjō to head the government. The Emperor refuse to appoint a new prime minister for the next two months, making Sanō a sole, full-power “Prime Minister concurrently-serving Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal” (内閣総理大臣兼任内大臣) during which time.
After the Meiji Constitution was adopted in 1890, a new system was established: In case of death, incapacitation, resignation or removal of prime minister, a member of the cabinet shall serve as “acting prime minister” (内閣総理大臣臨時代理) until the next prime minister is formally appointed. Today Sanjō’s government is generally regarded as continuation of the Kuroda’s.
Ozaki, Yukio. (2001). The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan. [Translated by Fujiko Hara]. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 10-ISBN 0-691-05095-3 (cloth)
