Genkō War

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Genkō War
partof=14th century Imperial-Shogunal conflicts


caption=A statue of Kusunoki Masashige outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan.
date=1331-1333
place=Kamakura, Japan
casus=Imperial attempts to overthrow shogunate
territory=
result=Imperial victory; Kamakura shogunate falls
combatant1=Imperial forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo
combatant2=Forces of Kamakura shogunate
commander1=Ashikaga Takauji, Nitta Yoshisada, Kusunoki Masashige
commander2=Hōjō Mototoki, Hōjō Takatoki, Hōjō Sadaaki, Hōjō Moritoki
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=
casualties2=

The Genkō War (元弘の乱, "Genkō no Ran") (1331-1333) was a civil war in Japan which marked the fall of the Kamakura shogunate (鎌倉幕府) and end of the power of the Hōjō clan (北条氏). The war thus preceded the Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代) and the rise of the Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 or 室町幕府).

Throughout much of the Kamakura period (鎌倉時代), the shogunate was controlled by the Hōjō clan, whose members held the title of regent for the shogun ("shikken", 執権), and passed it on within the clan. The Emperor (天皇) was little more than a figurehead, holding no real administrative power.

In 1331, Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇) tried to seize power and overthrow the shogunate. Along with an army of his loyal supporters, he attacked the "shikken" in the shogunal capital of Kamakura (鎌倉). He was defeated, however, as the result of the betrayal of a close associate named Yoshida Sadafusa. The Emperor hid the Sacred Treasures in a secluded castle in Kasagiyama (the modern town of Kasagi, Sōraku district, Kyoto Prefecture) and raised an army, but the castle fell to the shogunal army the following year. The shogunate enthroned Emperor Kōgon and exiled Go-Daigo to the island of Oki. This was the same place where Emperor Go-Toba was exiled in 1198.

The Emperor's son Prince Morinaga (護良親王) continued to fight, leading his father's army alongside Kusunoki Masashige (楠木 正成).

Emperor Go-Daigo escaped Oki in 1333, two years after his exile, with the help of Nawa Nagatoshi and his family, raising an army at Funagami Mountain in Hōki Province (the modern town of Kotoura in Tōhaku District, Tottori Prefecture).

Meanwhile, Ashikaga Takauji (足利 尊氏), the chief general of the Hōjō family, turned against the Hōjō and fought for the Emperor in the hopes of being named shogun. Simultaneously, Nitta Yoshisada (新田 義貞) sieged Kamakura and set fire to it and destroyed the Kamakura shogunate.

The city aflame, the shogunate fell, and the power of the Hōjō with it. Emperor Go-Daigo returned to Kyoto (京都), and claimed power in what came to be known as the Kemmu Restoration (建武の新政). This would only last a few years, though. In 1336 Ashikaga Takauji named himself Shogun (将軍) and seized power from Go-Daigo, beginning the Nanboku-chō Wars and the Ashikaga shogunate.

The Japanese name for this conflict is "Genkō no Ran" which translates to "Chaos of Genkō." Another name for this conflict is the Genkō Incident, or in Japanese, "Genkō no Hen" (元弘の変). Genkō (元弘) is the name of the Japanese era corresponding to the period 1331-1334.

References

* Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01753-6.
* Sansom, George (1963). "A history of Japan 1334-1615." Eight Printing (1993). Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo, ISBN 4-8053-0375-1
* Papinot, E. (1910). "Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan. 1972 Printing. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo, ISBN 0-8048-0996-8.