The Story of the Japanese 00941 [The Very Beginning of the Northern and Southern Courts] Summary of the Very Beginning of the Northern and Southern Courts

I have spoken about the period from the establishment of the Northern and Southern Courts to the passing of Emperor Go-Daigo.
During the three years of the Kenmu period that I discussed in the previous chapter, all four of the 'Three Trees and One Grass'—the influential military commanders of the Southern Court—had already died in battle, and shortly after the Northern and Southern Courts period began, Kitabatake Akiie and Nitta Yoshisada also fell in battle.
・Kitabatake Akiie: May 22, 1338 (En'gen 3/Kenmu 5): Died in the Battle of Ishizu.
・Nitta Yoshisada: July 2, 1338 (En'gen 3/Kenmu 5): Died in the Battle of Fujishima.
In addition, three of Emperor Go-Daigo's sons were killed by the Northern Court.
・Imperial Prince Takayoshi: March 6, 1337 (En'gen 2/Kenmu 4): Committed suicide at the Battle of Kanegasaki Castle.
・Imperial Prince Tsuneyoshi: April 13, 1338 (En'gen 3/Kenmu 5): Poisoned after the Battle of the Echizen Provincial Government.
・Imperial Prince Nariyoshi: April 13, 1338 (En'gen 3/Kenmu 5): Same as above.
(However, although the 'Taiheiki' records that Imperial Princes Tsuneyoshi and Nariyoshi were poisoned, some historical documents suggest they may have survived, and it has been pointed out that the poisoning story might be a later fabrication.)
And perhaps the greatest blow to the Southern Court was the passing of Emperor Go-Daigo himself.
Meanwhile, the Northern Court had not yet lost any key figures. Ashikaga Takauji, Ashikaga Tadayoshi, Ko no Moronao, and Shiba Takatsune were all still alive and well. Furthermore, taking advantage of Nitta Yoshisada's death, Takauji was finally appointed Seii Taishogun and opened the Muromachi Shogunate. (Though calling it the Muromachi Shogunate might be inaccurate, as the shogunate's administrative office had not yet been established in Muromachi, Kyoto.)
It could be said that by this point, the Southern Court was effectively a 'dead body,' but the only gain they made was securing the support of Hojo Tokiyuki, the surviving son of the Kamakura regent, the Hojo clan. From this point on, Tokiyuki would plague the Northern Court for nearly 20 years. However, the fact that they had to resort to adding even the son of the notorious Takatoki to their side illustrates the dire straits the Southern Court was in.
The Northern and Southern Courts period had only just begun, but it seems that by this time, many of the court nobles and samurai of the Southern Court had resigned themselves to defeat. As for how the Southern Court would conduct battles from this overwhelmingly disadvantageous position, they gave up on attacking Kyoto and instead adopted a strategy of steadily increasing their allies by using the provinces as a foothold.
Specifically, Kitabatake Chikafusa, who had entered Oda Castle in Hitachi, began carrying out various political maneuvers, but whether or not that would prove successful is something we will look at starting next time.