In no Kinshin (the retired Emperors courtier) (院近臣)
In no Kinshin refers to the close associates or the group of close associates of Chiten no kimi (the retired emperor in power) who carried out Insei (rule by the retired emperor.)
Many of them were blood relatives of menoto (wet nurses) who served Chiten no kimi, or middle-class nobles who formerly served as Kokushi (also called Zuryo; provincial governors.)
They often took reins of power instead of the Sekkan-ke (the families which produced regents). However, as times went by, strife over authority arose among In no Kinshin, which was one of the causes of the Heiji War in 1159.
After the mid Kamakura period when the promotion of benevolent rule became a subject of the Insei, practical middle rank nobles with full knowledge of laws, court rules, ceremony and decorums were often appointed as In no Kinshin.