Kemmu facts for kids

Kemmu (建武) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō, lit. year name) of the Northern Court during the Nanboku-chō period after Shōkyō and before Ryakuō. This period started in January 1334 and ended in August 1338 in the Northern Court, but it lasted until only February 1336 in the Southern Court. The pretender in Kyoto was Emperor Kōmyō (光明天皇, Kōmyō-tennō). Kōmyō's Southern Court rival in Yoshino during this time was Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇, Go-Diago-tennō).

Events of the Kemmu era

In 1333-1336, the Kemmu Restoration was an attempt by Emperor Go-Daigo to restore Imperial authority after the fall of the Kamakura shogunate. The failure of this effort led to the creation of two rival Imperial courts.

• 1334 (Kemmu 1): Emperor Go-Daigo caused Kemmu nenchū gyōji to be written. This was a book which described the ceremonies of the court; and its purpose was to aid the process of reviving ancient court etiquette.
• 25 October 1334 (Kemmu 1, 27th day of the 9th month): Emperor Go-Daigo made an Imperial progress to Kamo-jinja. No other emperor would visit Kamo's shrines until April 29, 1863 (Bunkyu 3, 11th day of the 3rd month), when Emperor Komei made an Imperial progress to Kamo.
• 1336 (Kemmu 3): An anonymous author published Kemmu nenkan ki, which was a chronicle of the Kemmu era. The text is a source of information about laws, government, bureaucrats, and arable lands and estates given by the emperor to the nobility or to religious institutions (shōen).
• 1336 (Kemmu 3): Ashikaga Takauji issued a new legal code with 17 articles (Kemmu-shikimoku).
• 17 May 1336 (Kemmu 3, 6th day of the 4th month): Former-Emperor Go-Fushimi died.

Southern Court nengō

The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Shōkei 1 as time was reckoned in the Northern Court in Kyoto; and the era began in Genkō 4, as time was ordered in the Southern Court in Yoshino.

Related pages

• Muromachi period

• National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection