There were retired emperors, including cloistered emperors, both before and after the Heian period, but the notion of cloistered rule as a system usually refers to the practice put in place by Emperor Shirakawa in 1086 and followed by his successors until the rise of the Kamakura shogunate in 1192.
Bilo je umirovljenih careva, uključujući i klaustriranih prije i poslije razdoblja Heiana, ali načelo klaustrirane vladavine kao sustava obično se odnosi na praksu koju je uveo car Shirakawa 1086. godine koji su nastavili njegovi nasljednici sve do uspona šogunata Kamakure 1192. godine.