Nanboku-chō period

BelligerentsAshikaga shogunate
Northern CourtSouthern CourtCommanders and leaders

Ashikaga Shoguns

• Ashikaga Takauji(1338–1358)
• Ashikaga Yoshiakira(1358–1367)
• Ashikaga Yoshimitsu(1368–1394)

Northern Court Emperors

• Kōgon(1331–1333)
• Kōmyō(1336–1348)
• Sukō(1348–1351)
• Go-Kōgon(1352–1371)
• Go-En'yū(1371–1382)
• Go-Komatsu(1382–1392 pretender; 1392–1412 legitimate)

Southern Court Emperors

• Go-Daigo(1336–1339)
• Go-Murakami(1339–1368)
• Chōkei(1368–1383)
• Go-Kameyama(1383–1392; abdicated)

Key Generals

• Kusunoki Masashige †
• Nitta Yoshisada †
• Kitabatake Akiie †

Strength Total regional mobilization: ~50,000–100,000+ warriors (estimated at peak of the conflict) Initial loyalist forces: ~20,000–40,000 warriors (variable from each province)Casualties and losses

Significant

• High among the provincial samurai clans during the Kannō Disturbance

Heavy

• Near total destruction of the Kusunoki clan and Nitta clan high command

The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, Nanboku-chō jidai), also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period, was a period in Japanese history between 1336 and 1392, during the formative years of the Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate. During this time, two opposing Imperial courts and their respective claimants as Emperor were engaged in conflict over their claims to the Chrysanthemum Throne, with the Southern Court ultimately renouncing their claim in favor of the Northern Court in 1392. This period became a source of contention for many Japanese historians and scholars over the following centuries. Initially, the North's victory in the dispute led official histories to paint them as the legitimate claimants. In reality, the Northern pretenders were simply puppet rulers under the direct control of the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates, while the Southern claimants maintained control of the Japanese Imperial Treasures, the sacred artifacts that confirmed an Emperor's legitimacy. To officially resolve this historical dilemma, in 1911 Emperor Meiji issued an edict that the Emperors of the Southern Court were the legitimate claimants during this period.

The destruction of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333 and the failure of the Kenmu Restoration in 1336 opened up a legitimacy crisis for the new shogunate. Institutional changes in the estate system (shōen) that formed the bedrock of the income of nobles and warriors altered the status of the various social groups. The establishment of the Ashikaga shogunate broadened the economic base of the warriors, while undercutting the noble proprietors. However, this trend had started already with the Kamakura bakufu.