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]
1350, also called Kannō gannen (観応元年): The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Jōwa 6.
In this time frame,
Shōhei (1346–1370) was the Southern Court equivalent nengō.
1350 (Kannō 1): Tadayoshi, excluded from administration, turns priest;[5] Tadayoshi's adopted son,
Ashikaga Tadafuyu is wrongly repudiated as a rebel.[6]
1351 (Kannō 2): Tadayoshi joins Southern Court, southern army takes Kyoto; truce, Takauji returns to Kyoto; Tadayoshi and Takauji reconciled; Kō no Moronao and
Kō no Moroyasu are exiled.[5]
1350–1352 (Kannō 2–3): Armed conflict, variously known as the
Kannō disturbance or
Kannō incident (観応擾乱, Kannō Jōran) or Kannō no juran, developed from antagonism between Shōgun
Ashikaga Takauji and his brother,
Ashikaga Tadayoshi. Disagreement about the influence of
Kō no Moronao diminished after death of Moronao. Tadayoshi was ordered to relocate to Kamakura. The brothers eventually reconciled before Tadayoshi's death in 1352.[7]