Ashikaga Takauji - Eras of Takauji's bakufu

Eras of Takauji's bakufu

Because of the anomalous situation, which he had himself created and which saw two Emperors reign simultaneously, one in Yoshino and one in Kyoto, the years in which Takauji was shogun as reckoned by the Gregorian calendar are identified in Japanese historical records by two different series of Japanese era names (nengō), that following the datation used by the legitimate Southern Court and that formulated by the pretender Northern Court.

• Eras as reckoned by the legitimate Southern Court (declared legitimate by a Meiji era decree because in possession at the time of the Japanese Imperial Regalia):
  • Engen (1336–1340)
  • Kōkoku (1340–1346)
  • Shōhei (1346–1370)
• Eras as reckoned by the pretender Northern Court (declared illegitimate by a Meiji era decree because not in possession at the time of the Japanese Imperial Regalia):
  • Ryakuō (1338–1342)
  • Kōei (1342–1345)
  • Jōwa (1345–1350)
  • Kan'ō or Kannō (1350–1352)
  • Bunna (1352–1356)
  • Enbun (1356–1361)