Tairō (大老, lit. "great elder") was a high-ranking official position in the bakuhan taisei government of Japan. The tairō would preside over the governing roju council in the event of an emergency. A tairō would be nominated from among a group of samurai families who supported Tokugawa Ieyasu. Generally, the position was used to provide Japan with a capable temporary leader in the absence of a shogun, or in the event that the shogun was incapacitated.
