The —also known as the —was a civil war in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 which marked the fall of the Kamakura shogunate

Kamakura shogunate

The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...

 and end of the power of the Hōjō clan

Hojo clan

See the late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate. In practice, the family had actual governmental power, many times dictatorial, rather than Kamakura shoguns, or the...

. The war thus preceded the Nanboku-chō period

Nanboku-cho

The , spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Muromachi bakufu of Japan's history.During this period, there existed a Northern Imperial Court, established by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and a Southern Imperial Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo in...

 and the rise of the Ashikaga shogunate

Ashikaga shogunate

The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...

. Genkō is the name of the Japanese era

Japanese era name

The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the and the year number within the era...

 corresponding to the period 1331-1334.

Throughout much of the Kamakura period

Kamakura period

The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....

, the shogunate

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

 was controlled by the Hōjō clan, whose members held the title of shikken

Shikken

The was the regent for the shogun in the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. The post was monopolized by the Hōjō clan, and this system only existed once in Japanese history, between 1203 and 1333...

(regent for the shogun), and passed it on within the clan. The Emperor

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

 was little more than a figurehead, holding no real administrative power.

In 1331, Emperor Go-Daigo

Emperor Go-Daigo

Emperor Go-Daigo was the 96th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession....

 tried to seize power and overthrow the shogunate. Along with an army of his loyal supporters, he attacked the shikken in the shogunal capital of Kamakura

Kamakura, Kanagawa

is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...

. He was defeated, however, as the result of the betrayal of a close associate named . The Emperor hid the Sacred Treasures

Imperial Regalia of Japan

The , also known as the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, consist of the sword Kusanagi , the mirror Yata no Kagami , and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama...

 in a secluded castle in Kasagiyama (the modern town of Kasagi

Kasagi, Kyoto

is a town located in Sōraku District, Kyoto, Japan.As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 1,754. The total area is 23.57 km².-External links:*...

, Sōraku district

Soraku District, Kyoto

Soraku is a district in Kyoto, Japan.As of 2007, the district had an estimated population of 44,982 and a density of 252.27 persons per km². The total area is 178.31 km².-Towns and villages:*Kasagi*Minamiyamashiro*Seika*Wazuka...

, Kyoto Prefecture

Kyoto Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kyoto.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Kyoto prefecture was known as Yamashiro....

) and raised an army, but the castle fell to the shogunal army the following year. The shogunate enthroned Emperor Kōgon

Emperor Kōgon

Emperor Kōgon was the 1st of Ashikaga Pretenders during the Period of the Northern and Southern Courts in Japan...

 and exiled Go-Daigo to the island of Oki

Oki Province

was an old province of Japan which is now Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Oki province consisted of the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan, located off the coast of the provinces of Izumo and Hōki....

. This was the same place where Emperor Go-Toba

Emperor Go-Toba

was the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198....

 had been exiled after the Jōkyū War

Jokyu War

', also known as the Jōkyū Disturbance or the Jōkyū Rebellion, was fought in Japan between the forces of Retired Emperor Go-Toba and those of the Hōjō clan, regents of the Kamakura shogunate, whom the retired emperor was trying to overthrow....

 of 1221.

The Emperor's son Prince Morinaga

Prince Morinaga

was a son of Emperor Go-Daigo and Minamoto no Chikako executed by Ashikaga Tadayoshi in 1335.When Moriyoshi was 18, Go-Daigo had him named the head abbot of the Enryakuji temple on Mount Hiei....

 continued to fight, leading his father's army alongside Kusunoki Masashige

Kusunoki Masashige

was a 14th century samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in his attempt to wrest rulership of Japan away from the Kamakura shogunate and is remembered as the ideal of samurai loyalty.-Tactician:...

.

Emperor Go-Daigo escaped Oki in 1333, two years after his exile, with the help of and his family, raising an army at Funagami Mountain in Hōki Province

Hoki Province

was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the western part of Tottori Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Hōki bordered on Inaba, Mimasaka, Bitchū, Bingo, and Izumo Provinces....

 (the modern town of Kotoura in Tōhaku District

Tohaku District, Tottori

is a district located in Tottori, Japan.As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 65,944 and a density of 109.54 persons per km². The total area is 602.02 km².-Towns and villages:*Hokuei*Kotoura*Misasa*Yurihama-Mergers:...

, Tottori Prefecture

Tottori Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region. The capital is the city of Tottori. It is the least populous prefecture in Japan.- History :Before the Meiji Restoration, Tottori encompassed the old provinces of Hōki and Inaba...

).

Meanwhile, Ashikaga Takauji

Ashikaga Takauji

was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...

, the chief general of the Hōjō family, turned against the Hōjō and fought for the Emperor in the hopes of being named shogun. Simultaneously, Nitta Yoshisada

Nitta Yoshisada

was the head of the Nitta family in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period, capturing Kamakura from the Hōjō clan in 1333....

 led his army on a campaign through Kōzuke and Musashi provinces

Kozuke-Musashi Campaign

The Kōzuke-Musashi campaign was a rapid and direct assault during the Japanese Genkō War by Nitta Yoshisada that led up to the Siege of Kamakura in 1333. It consisted of a number of battles over a brief period...

 culminating in the siege of Kamakura

Siege of Kamakura (1333)

The 1333 siege of Kamakura was a battle of the Genkō War, and marked the end of the power of the Hōjō clan, which had dominated the regency of the Kamakura shogunate for over a century...

, setting fire to the city, and destroying the Kamakura shogunate

Kamakura shogunate

The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...

.

The city aflame, the shogunate fell, and the power of the Hōjō with it. Emperor Go-Daigo returned to Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, and claimed power in what came to be known as the Kemmu Restoration

Kemmu restoration

The is the name given to both the three year period of Japanese history between the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period, and the political events that took place in it...

. This would only last a few years, though. In 1336 Ashikaga Takauji named himself Shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

and seized power from Go-Daigo, beginning the Nanboku-chō Wars and the Ashikaga shogunate.