The Imperial seats during the Nanboku-chō period were in relatively close proximity, but geographically distinct. They were conventionally identified as:
During the Meiji period, an Imperial decree dated March 3, 1911 established that the legitimate reigning monarchs of this period were the direct descendants of Emperor Go-Daigo through Emperor Go-Murakami, whose Southern Court (南朝, nanchō) had been established in exile in Yoshino, near Nara.[3]
Until the end of the Edo period, the militarily superior pretender-Emperors supported by the Ashikaga shogunate had been mistakenly incorporated in Imperial chronologies despite the undisputed fact that the Imperial Regalia were not in their possession.[3]
1379, also called Kōryaku gannen (康暦元年): The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Eiwa 5.
In this time frame, Tenju (1375–1381) was the Southern Court equivalent nengō.[4]
July 26, 1380 (Kōryaku 2, 24th day of the 6th month): The former Emperor Kōmyō died at age 60.[6]
Notes
^Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Kōryaku" in Japan encyclopedia, p. 562; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File Archived 2012-05-24 at archive.today.
^Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 310-315.
^ a b cThomas, Julia Adeney. (2001). Reconfiguring modernity: concepts of nature in Japanese political ideology, p. 199 n57, citing Mehl, Margaret. (1997). History and the State in Nineteenth-Century Japan. p. 140-147.
^Titsingh, p. 312.
^ a bAckroyd, Joyce. (1982) Lessons from History: The "Tokushi Yoron", p. 329.
Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
External links
National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection