Emperor Go-Daigo

Emperor Go-Daigo was the 96th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He successfully overthrew the Kamakura shogunate in 1333 and established the short-lived Kenmu Restoration to bring the Imperial House back into power. This was to be the last time the emperor had real power until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The Kenmu restoration was in turn overthrown by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, ushering in the Ashikaga shogunate. The overthrow split the imperial family into two opposing factions between the Ashikaga backed Northern Court situated in Kyoto and the Southern Court based in Yoshino. The Southern Court was led by Go-Daigo and his later successors. This 14th-century sovereign personally chose his posthumous name after the 9th-century Emperor Daigo and go- (後), translates as "later", and he is thus sometimes called the "Later Emperor Daigo", or, in some older sources, "Daigo, the second" or as "Daigo II". Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Takaharu-shinnō. He was the second son of the Daikakuji-tō emperor, Emperor Go-Uda. His mother was Fujiwara no Chūshi, daughter of Fujiwara no Tadatsugu. She became Nyoin called Dantenmon-in. His older brother was Emperor Go-Nijō. Emperor Go-Daigo's ideal was the Engi era (901–923) during the reign of Emperor Daigo, a period of direct imperial rule. An emperor's posthumous name was normally chosen after his death, but Emperor Go-Daigo chose his personally during his lifetime, to share it with Emperor Daigo. Emperor Go-Daigo ascended the throne in 1318, after the abdication of his cousin Emperor Hanazono. He soon began to plot against the Kamakura shogunate, which had dominated Japan for over a century and reduced the emperors to figureheads. He enlisted the support of many nobles, monks, and warriors who shared his vision of restoring the imperial rule. In 1331, he openly declared his intentions and moved to Kasagiyama, where he set up his base. He was exiled by the shogunate to the Oki Islands in 1332, but his loyalists continued to fight in his name. In 1333, two of his generals, Nitta Yoshisada and Kusunoki Masashige, attacked and destroyed the shogunal capital of Kamakura, ending the rule of the Hōjō clan. Emperor Go-Daigo returned to Kyoto and started the Kenmu Restoration, a series of reforms to revive the imperial authority and the court aristocracy. He also tried to unify the provincial warlords under his command and create a national army. However, his restoration faced many challenges and oppositions from various factions. Some of the warlords who had helped him overthrow the shogunate were dissatisfied with his policies and rewards. They felt that he was too arrogant and autocratic, and that he favored the court nobles over the warriors. One of them was Ashikaga Takauji, a powerful samurai who had initially supported the emperor, but later turned against him and allied with the Northern Court, a rival imperial line backed by the shogunate. Ashikaga Takauji captured Kyoto in 1336 and enthroned Emperor Kōgon as the puppet emperor of the Northern Court. Emperor Go-Daigo fled to Yoshino in the mountains of Nara, where he established the Southern Court and continued to claim the legitimate title. Thus began the Nanboku-chō period, or the period of the Northern and Southern Courts, which lasted for over 50 years. Emperor Go-Daigo never gave up his hope of restoring his rule over Japan. He maintained his court in Yoshino and tried to rally his supporters to fight against the Ashikaga shogunate and the Northern Court. He also sought the help of foreign powers, such as China and the Mongols, to intervene in his favor. However, his efforts were in vain, as the shogunate proved to be too strong and stable to be overthrown. He died in 1339, at the age of 50, and was buried at Tō-no-o no misasagi in Nara. His son, Emperor Go-Murakami, succeeded him as the leader of the Southern Court. The Southern Court continued to resist the Northern Court until 1392, when they finally reconciled and reunited under Emperor Go-Komatsu, the grandson of Emperor Go-Daigo.