kingdom · Korea and Japan

Kenmu Restoration

1333 CE – 1336 CE · capital Kyoto

Emperor Go-Daigo's brief attempt to restore direct imperial rule in Japan after the fall of the Kamakura shogunate.

Origins

Emperor Go-Daigo plotted against the Hojo regents for years and was exiled to the Oki islands, but he escaped. When the warlords Ashikaga Takauji and Nitta Yoshisada turned against the shogunate and destroyed it in 1333, Go-Daigo returned to Kyoto to rule in person, naming his era Kenmu in 1334.

Rule and society

Go-Daigo abolished the office of regent and sought to govern through new offices such as the Records Office and a court for rewards. Yet he favoured courtiers over warriors in distributing confiscated lands, and the new regime proved slow and confused, as satirised in the Nijo-gawara lampoons posted in the capital.

Decline and legacy

In 1335 Takauji went east to suppress a Hojo revolt and then broke with the emperor. He defeated Kusunoki Masashige at Minatogawa in 1336, installed a rival emperor and founded the Ashikaga shogunate, while Go-Daigo fled to Yoshino to found the Southern Court.

Lineage

Kamakura shogunate 1185 CE – 1333 CEKenmu RestorationSouthern Court 1336 CE – 1392 CEAshikaga shogunate 1336 CE – 1573 CE

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kenmu Restoration. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kenmu-restoration
MLA
“Kenmu Restoration.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kenmu-restoration. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kenmu Restoration.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kenmu-restoration.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kenmu Restoration’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kenmu-restoration (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻