Kenmu Restoration

The Kenmu Restoration was Emperor Go-Daigo’s short-lived attempt to govern Japan directly after the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, from 1333 to 1336.

Kenmu Code: A 1334 legal code that set out rules for government under Emperor Go-Daigo. It formalized the restoration’s administration and exposed its effort to centralize authority.
Emperor Go-Daigo: A Japanese emperor who sought to end shogunal rule and restore political authority to the throne. His political ambitions and decisions defined the restoration.
Ashikaga shogunate: The military government founded by Ashikaga Takauji that ruled Japan from 1336 to 1573. It replaced Go-Daigo’s government and became the restoration’s principal institutional successor.
Kamakura shogunate: Japan’s first military government, ruled by shoguns from Kamakura from 1185 or 1192 until 1333. Unlike this shogunate, Go-Daigo’s project aimed to place governing power directly in imperial hands.
Shugo: Provincial military governors who exercised policing and political authority in medieval Japan. The restoration relied on shugo appointments, fueling disputes over offices and local power.
Genkō War: The 1331–1333 conflict in which Emperor Go-Daigo and his allies fought the Kamakura shogunate. The war brought down the government whose fall enabled the restoration.
Nanboku-chō period: The period of rivalry between Japan’s Northern and Southern Courts, conventionally dated 1336–1392. The restoration’s collapse opened this prolonged contest over the imperial throne.
Jōkyū War: The 1221 conflict in which retired Emperor Go-Toba tried and failed to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate. It was an earlier imperial challenge to military rule, but ended in a decisive shogunal victory.
Jito: Stewards who managed estates and collected revenue in medieval Japan. Competition over estate appointments made the new regime’s rewards contentious.
Siege of Kamakura: The 1333 assault that ended the Kamakura shogunate’s rule in its capital. Its outcome cleared the way for Go-Daigo’s return to power.

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