The Nanboku-cho period, also known as the Northern and Southern Courts Period, was a period of Japanese history from 1334 to 1392 that saw the Ashikaga clan vie for power against the Hojo of the Kamakura Shogunate and Emperor Go-Daigo himself. Ashikaga Takauji's victory at the Battle of Minatogawa led to the downfall of the Kamakura and the rise of the Ashikaga Shogunate, but Go-Daigo set up his own imperial court to rival the court in Kyoto, with the southern court being based in Yoshino. The period would end in 1392 with the fall of the Southern Court forces, but the Southern Court has been acknowledged as the legitimate rulers of Japan at the time, while some Southern Court descendants challenge the Northern Court-descended emperors of Japan for legitimacy.
Background[]
In 1192, Minamoto Yoritomo founded the Kamakura Shogunate, which served as a regency over the imperial house. The first three shoguns were Minamoto, the next two Fujiwara, and the rest of many houses, but from 1199 to 1256 the Hojo held the title of shikken, military dictator of Japan. The Hojo influenced the decisions of the shogun and therefore the Emperor as well, and Emperor Go-Daigo tired of the meddling of the shoguns and shikkens in his affairs. In 1331, he began a rebellion against the Kamakura Shogunate and brought the downfall of the Hojo with the capture of Kamakura in 1333. However, the ambitious Ashikaga Takauji made a bid for power, leading his armies towards Kyoto. In 1336, the imperial forces were crushed at the Battle of Minatogawa, and the Ashikaga clan founded the Ashikaga Shogunate to rule Japan instead of either the Hojo or the emperors. In response, Go-Daigo founded the Southern Court in Yoshino in opposition to the Northern Court of Kyoto, and the Nanboku-cho period began.
History[]
Kanno disturbance[]
The battle of Minatogawa led to the outbreak of a civil war in Japan between the Ashikaga, Kanto Kubo, and their allies and the Southern Court and its allies. The war was fought mostly in central Japan at the time, with the Northern and Southern Courts engaging in battles that saw Kyoto change hands quite a few times; however, the situation changed in the Kanno disturbance of 1350-51, which saw Ashikaga Takauji's older brother Ashikaga Tadayoshi defect to Go-Murakami's cause and lead his forces in an Ashikaga civil war against Takauji. The result would be a civil war between the Ashikaga brothers, while the Southern Court forces of Emperor Go-Murakami sought to exploit the violence to recapture Kyoto.
Campaigns in Central Honshu[]
The cavalry charge at Kameyaka
In early 1351, Ashikaga Takauji's forces were confined to the capital of Kyoto, and the Ashikaga faced a difficult situation. In order to break free of the encirclement by other clans, Takauji built up his armies and embarked on a campaign against the Yamana clan of Tamba Province with Ko no Moronao and Ko no Moroyasu as his aides-de-camp. With 645 troops, he destroyed the Yamana at the siege of Kameyaka, slaying Yamana Tokiuji and seizing Tamba. The Ikeda clan, formerly allied to the Ashikaga clan, declared war on them in response to Takauji conquering their Yamana allies, leading to Takauji dispatching his brother Ashikaga Yoshiakira and a large army to conquer Settsu Province from the Ikeda. The ensuing battle for Fukuhara was another Ashikaga victory, winning them yet another province. This allowed for the Ashikaga to spread their clan allegiance to new regions, and they collected more tax income, with which they could build up larger armies in their campaigns against their enemies.
Battles of Yodogawa[]
In 1352, Emperor Go-Murakami and his Commissioner for Warfare Ochi Genta embarked on a campaign north from Yoshino Province to attack the Akamatsu clan. The Southern Court army was mauled in a battle with daimyo Akamatsu Norisuke and Akamatsu Sadanori, and the army of the Emperor was forced to retreat towards the Yodo River. Go-Murakami made the foolish choice of declaring war on the Ashikaga clan at random, leading to Yoshiakira leading his army out of Fukuhara in Settsu to attack the battered Southern Court army. The First Battle of Yodogawa saw the emperor and Ochi Genta be cut down by the Ashikaga, and the Southern Court took a heavy blow in a defeat that might not have happened had Go-Murakami waited to replenish his forces before a campaign against the Ashikaga. In autumn of that year, the Second Battle of Yodogawa was fought between the Ashikaga and Minamoto Sadasuke's Southern Court army, this time on the north bank of the river, and it was another decisive victory for the Ashikaga, with the Southern Court forces being annihilated once more.