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]
1361, also called Kōan gannen (康安元年): The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Embun 6.
In this time frame,
Shōhei (1346–1370) was a Southern Court equivalent nengō,
Events of the Kōan era
1361 (Kōan 1, 6th month): Snowfall was unusually heavy; and there was also a disastrous fire in Kyoto as well as a violent earthquake.[4]