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| Genkō War | |||||||||
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| Part of the 14th century Imperial-Shogunal conflicts | |||||||||
 A statue ofKusunoki Masashige outside theImperial Palace inTokyo | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Imperial forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo | Kamakura Shogunate | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
TheGenkō War (元弘の乱,Genkō no Ran), also known as theGenkō Incident (元弘の變,Genkō no Hen), was acivil war fought inJapan between theEmperor Go-Daigo and theKamakura Shogunate from 1331 to 1333. The Genkō War was named afterGenkō, theJapanese era corresponding to the period of 1331 to 1334 when the war occurred.
Go-Daigo becameEmperor of Japan in 1318 and sought to remove theKamakura Shogunate, which had ruled Japan as ade factomilitary government from the city ofKamakura since theGenpei War in 1185, and restore power tocivilian government under theImperial House inKyoto. The Kamakura Shogunate was indirectly ruled by theHōjō clan asshikken – theregents of theShōgun – and actively blocked the Emperor's manoeuvres to restore Imperial rule.
In 1331, Go-Daigo plotted to seize power through force and overthrow the Kamakura Shogunate by encouraging hisvassals and other anti-Hōjōsamurai to rebel. However, Go-Daigo was betrayed when his trusted adviser Fujiwara Sadafusa alerted the shogunate, who dispatched troops to Kyoto to suppress the uprising. Go-Daigo fled Kyoto with theSacred Treasures and sought refuge inKasagi, a secludedmonastery overlooking theKizu River. Go-Daigo managed to escape Kasagi when it was attacked by Kamakura troops in theSiege of Kasagi, but was soon apprehended. Go-Daigo was subsequentlyexiled to theOki Islands and the Kamakura then enthronedEmperor Kōgon, the first Emperor of the "Northern Court", setting the stage for the upcomingNanboku-chō period.[1] Go-Daigo's sonPrince Morinaga continued to fight against the Kamakura, leading his father's supporters alongsideKusunoki Masashige.[1]
In 1333, Go-Daigo escaped Oki two years after his exile with the help ofNawa Nagatoshi (名和長年), raising a new Imperial army atMount Senjō inHōki Province, in the modern town ofKotoura,Tottori Prefecture. He defeated the forces of Sasaki Kiyotaka at theBattle of Mount Senjōsan and gained the support of many warlords in western Japan against the Hōjō.[1]: 15 Meanwhile,Ashikaga Takauji, the chief general of the Hōjō, was dispatched west to fight against Go-Daigo's second uprising. However, for unknown reasons, Takaujidefected to Go-Daigo's army shortly before reaching Kyoto, and began to fight against the Hōjō. The reason for Takauji's defection is unknown, but assumed to be because of his unofficial leadership of theMinamoto clan, the victors of the Genpei War and arch-rivals of the formerTaira clan to which the Hōjō had belonged. Additionally, Takauji possibly hoped of being namedShōgun by Go-Daigo after his restoration to power. The Imperial army lifted theSiege of Chihaya and Imperial generalNitta Yoshisada won a string of victories in theKōzuke–Musashi campaign in May, including theSiege of Chihaya, theBattle of Kotesashi, theBattle of Kumegawa, and theBattle of Bubaigawara. The Kamakura Shogunate was eventually defeated at theSiege of Kamakura in early July, when Imperial forces entered the destroyed city and the Hōjō committedsuicide.[1]: 15–21
Go-Daigo triumphantly returned toKyoto and claimed power from Emperor Kōgon in what came to be known as theKenmu Restoration. Go-Daigo's rule would only last three years as his policies disillusioned his supporters, and most of the accomplishments of the Genkō War were gradually undone. Manysamurai who had fought for Go-Daigo were dissatisfied with their rewards, and his pursuit of consolidating Imperial power led to their subsequent exclusion from political affairs, whereas they had held significant influence under the shogunate. Japanesecommoners were similarly dissatisfied as Go-Daigo failed to address the issues they had petitioned for him to resolve. In 1336, Ashikaga Takauji named himself theShōgun and seized power from Emperor Go-Daigo, establishing theAshikaga Shogunate based on the Kamakura system and marking the beginning the Nanboku-chō "Northern and Southern Courts" period.
