Stories of the Japanese 00983 [Early Northern and Southern Courts Period] Summary of the Early Northern and Southern Courts Period
While the Kamakura period was divided into five stages—early, pre-middle, middle, late, and final—the Northern and Southern Courts period is divided into seven: very early, early, pre-middle, middle, late, final, and very final. I wish there had been a better way to express that...
With the death of Masatsura in battle and the burning of Yoshino, about one-fifth of the Northern and Southern Courts period has come to an end. The term "Northern and Southern Courts period" might make it sound as if the Southern and Northern Courts were fighting with equal strength, but that was by no means the case. The Northern Court was superior with an overwhelming military advantage, while the Southern Court was merely continuing a meager resistance in Yoshino.
Under normal circumstances, it would not have been strange for the Southern Court to have surrendered early on. In particular, after the death of the charismatic Emperor Go-Daigo, Konoe Tsunetada argued that they should reconcile with the Northern Court, and for a time, the peace faction seemed to hold sway within the Southern Court.
However, the Southern Court had a hardline advocate for war named Kitabatake Chikafusa.
While fighting the Northern Court in Hitachi, Chikafusa sent out numerous letters trying to win over warriors from various provinces, but the more he spoke, the more the warriors' hearts drifted away. Ultimately, as long as warriors remained warriors, they would naturally gravitate toward the Northern Court, which was a samurai government.
With Chikafusa's return to Yoshino, the Southern Court likely lost the option of reconciling with the Northern Court. Although a new hero named Kusunoki Masatsura emerged for the Southern Court, he was only active for a mere six months. There are campaigns to "make Masashige and Masatsura the subject of a Taiga drama," but setting aside ideology, these two die so early on that they do not seem suitable as the central theme for a year-long Taiga drama.
Furthermore, the fierce Northern Court general Ko no Moronao brought Yoshino under his control, and the Southern Court was left in a state where it was a shadow of its former self. No one at the time could have imagined that from this point on, the Southern Court would recover enough (albeit temporarily) to capture Kyoto.
In addition, "Basara" (extravagant, unconventional behavior) began to become popular in earnest from this era. I have highlighted three famous Basara daimyo:
・Sasaki Doyo, who burned down the Myoho-in Temple
・Ko no Moronao, who caused the death of Enya Hangan through slander
・Toki Yori-to, who shot arrows at the Retired Emperor Kogon
In any case, I believe these three reflect a spirited personality that disregarded existing values. Perhaps with the fall of the Kamakura Shogunate, more people began to think without being bound by existing frameworks.
In a world where such Basara men were rampant, Kitabatake Chikafusa's imperial loyalist ideology would have had no effect at all.
The turmoil of the Northern and Southern Courts has only just begun. Much more blood will be shed before the chaos subsides.