The "kanrei" office itself is a good example of mediation by tying together the interests of the "shugo" lords with those of the shōgun. The job of the "kanrei" was to act as a spokesman between the Senior Vassal Council (jushin kaigi) and the shōgun, mediating between the two. The "kanrei" also had the responsibility of looking over the bureaucratic elements of the regime on a daily basis, consulting and transmitting shogunal orders to the council and to the bureaucracy. The "kanrei" was consistently selected from a hereditary group of three "shugo" families related to Takauji within four generations (Papinot 1972:27): the Hosokawa, the Hatakeyama and the Shiba. The three families took turns in filling the post. They were the highest ranking "shugo" families in the regime, and the post of "kanrei" helped to tie their interests in support of it.