The Nanboku-chō War

Timeline

1. 1351–1354Ōmi Province · ŌmiUnder the command of the Yoshino court, the Southern Court sent troops north under Kitabatake Chikafusa and the Kusunoki clan, capturing Ōmi, Mino, and other places and at one point threatening Kyoto. Northern Court generals under Ashikaga, such as Hosokawa Kiyoyasu and Shiba Takasuke, organized defenses, and the two sides seesawed repeatedly in the Kinai.
2. 1355–1356Kyoto · KyotoAshikaga Takauji personally led a large army east from Kyushu and recaptured Kyoto in 1356; Emperor Go-Daigo and other Southern Court figures were forced to retreat south to Yoshino. The Northern Court established its rule in Kyoto, Takauji was appointed sei-i taishōgun, and Muromachi shogunate power was further consolidated.
3. 1357–1360Japanese archipelago · JapanAlthough Kyoto was under Northern Court control, the Southern Court held Yoshino and the Kii mountains and continued resisting, neither side recognizing the other's legitimacy. Shugo daimyō everywhere kept armies and acted independently; the warfare aggravated levies and increased refugees, and coastal samurai also began engaging in trade and raiding toward Korea.