Kenmu Restoration

A leader named Go-Daigo wanted to rule Japan.

For a long time, warriors held the power. Go-Daigo fought to take it back. He won and became the ruler.

But the warriors were not happy. They felt the new rules were not fair. They wanted more power.

Then a man named Takauji rose up.

He led the warriors to win a war. Takauji became the new leader of Japan. This changed the land for a long time.

For many years, military leaders ruled Japan. They were called the Kamakura Shogunate.

Emperor Go-Daigo wanted to take power back. He wanted the Imperial House to rule again. In 1333, he won a big fight. He worked with leaders like Nitta Yoshisada. The Emperor was back in charge. This time was called the Kenmu Restoration.

But the new rules did not work well. Go-Daigo did not give enough land to the samurai. These were the warrior class. He also taxed them to build a palace. The warriors became very angry. They felt the Emperor was not fair.

Ashikaga Takauji was a famous samurai.

He saw that the warriors were unhappy. He led them in a new war. Takauji fought against the Emperor's men. In 1336, Takauji took the capital city. This ended the Kenmu Restoration. Now, the Ashikaga family would rule. This started a new period in Japan.

Prince Morinaga's statue at Kamakura-gū.

The Kenmu Restoration was a brief time of change in Japan. It lasted for only three years from 1333 to 1336. During this time, Emperor Go-Daigo tried to rule the country directly. For 148 years, military leaders called the Kamakura Shogunate had held the real power.

Go-Daigo wanted to end this military rule. He wanted to bring back a civilian government led by the Imperial House. This was a very big goal for one leader to try.

To reach his goal, Go-Daigo had to fight the Shogunate. He first started the Genkō War in 1331. He lost that fight and was sent away to the Oki Islands. However, he did not give up on his plan. He started a second uprising with help from important people. A general named Ashikaga Takauji and a leader named Nitta Yoshisada joined him. Together, they defeated the Shogunate at the siege of Kamakura in 1333. This victory allowed the Imperial House to take power once again.

Even though the Emperor was back, his new rules caused problems. He wanted to fix how land was owned by different groups. He tried to give land to Buddhist temples like Tō-ji and Daitoku-ji. However, he did not protect the rights of the workers on the land. He also failed to reward the smaller samurai who helped him win. Instead, he gave many big rewards to only a few people. This made many warriors feel that the new government was not fair.

Many samurai became very angry with the Emperor's choices. Go-Daigo even asked the samurai for extra taxes to build a palace. This made the warriors want a new leader to follow. Ashikaga Takauji was a very strong samurai leader.

He believed that the military class should still have the right to rule. Takauji began to gather support from all the unhappy warriors. He became a symbol for those who wanted the old ways back.

Conflict grew between the Emperor and the Ashikaga family. A sad event happened when Prince Morinaga was killed during a revolt.

This increased the tension between the two sides. In late 1335, a large civil war began across the country. Most samurai chose to join Takauji instead of the Emperor. By February 25, 1336, Takauji entered the capital city of Kyoto. This event ended the Kenmu Restoration and started the Muromachi period.

The Kenmu Restoration was a brief period of Imperial rule in Japanese history. It lasted for only three years, from 1333 to 1336. This era sat between the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period. During this time, Emperor Go-Daigo attempted to rule Japan directly. He wanted to end the military government that had existed for 148 years. This military rule was known as the Kamakura Shogunate.

For many years, the Emperor's power had been taken by other families. The Minamoto and Hōjō families held the real authority in Japan. They ruled from the city of Kamakura. The Shogunate had even allowed two different imperial lines to alternate on the throne. These were the Northern Court and the Southern Court. This system worked for a while until Emperor Go-Daigo ascended the throne. Go-Daigo wanted to stop the military from interfering with his rule. He even defied the Shogunate by naming his own son as his heir.

To achieve his goal, Go-Daigo started the Genkō War in 1331. He was defeated in this first attempt and sent into exile. He was sent to live on the remote Oki Islands. However, Go-Daigo launched a second uprising to reclaim his power. He received help from a general named Ashikaga Takauji. He also worked with a rebel leader named Nitta Yoshisada. Together, they defeated the Shogunate at the siege of Kamakura in 1333. This victory successfully restored the Imperial House to power.

Once back in power, Go-Daigo faced many difficult problems. One major issue was how land was owned. Large estates called shōen were managed by local lords known as shugo and jitō. These lords had special tax exemptions and political independence. This situation made the central government weaker and poorer. Go-Daigo and his adviser, Kitabatake Chikafusa, wanted to change this. However, Go-Daigo's attempts to manage these lands caused great resentment. He gave many rewards to Buddhist temples like Tō-ji and Daitoku-ji. This move helped him gain religious support but did not help the warriors.

Go-Daigo also made mistakes in how he treated the samurai class. The samurai were the warriors who had helped him win the war. He failed to reward the minor samurai who had fought for him. Instead, he showed favoritism toward a few large leaders. He also gave many important provincial offices to nobles and court bureaucrats. This left very little for the warriors who actually did the fighting. To make matters worse, he levied extra taxes on the samurai to pay for a new palace. By the end of 1335, the warrior class had lost all support for the Emperor.

Ashikaga Takauji became the main leader for the unhappy samurai. He believed that the military class had the right to rule Japan. He saw himself as a restorer of Minamoto power rather than a thief of it. Takauji began to gather the discontented warriors to his side. Tensions grew between the Emperor and the Ashikaga family. A major conflict occurred when Prince Morinaga, the Emperor's son, was killed during a revolt.

This event made the division between the two sides even deeper.

In late 1335, a large civil war broke out across the country. The two sides issued conflicting orders to the samurai. The Emperor ordered samurai to destroy the Ashikaga brothers. However, Takauji's brother, Tadayoshi, asked all samurai to join them and destroy Nitta Yoshisada. Most samurai chose to follow Takauji because they wanted their grievances addressed. Most peasants also felt they were better off under the old Shogunate. By February 1336, the Emperor and Nitta Yoshisada had lost the fight.

On February 25, 1336, Ashikaga Takauji entered Kyoto. This event ended the Kenmu Restoration and began the Muromachi period.