# Kōkoku

Part of a series on the :
History of Japan :
PeriodsPaleolithicbefore 14,000 BCJōmon14,000–1000 BCYayoi
1000 BC – 300 ADKofun
300–538 ADAsuka
538–710Nara
710–794HeianFormer Nine Years' WarLater Three-Year WarGenpei War 794–1185KamakuraJōkyū WarMongol invasionsGenkō WarKenmu Restoration 1185–1333MuromachiNanboku-chō periodSengoku period 1336–1573Azuchi–Momoyama
Nanban tradeImjin WarBattle of Sekigahara 1573–1603Edo (Tokugawa)
Tokugawa shogunateInvasion of RyukyuSiege of OsakaSakokuPerry ExpeditionConvention of KanagawaBakumatsuMeiji RestorationBoshin War 1603–1868Meiji
Ryūkyū DispositionInvasion of Taiwan (1874)Satsuma RebellionFirst Sino-Japanese WarTreaty of ShimonosekiTriple InterventionInvasion of Taiwan (1895)Colonization of TaiwanBoxer RebellionRusso-Japanese WarTreaty of PortsmouthJapan–Korea TreatyColonization of Korea 1868–1912Taishō
World War IIntervention in SiberiaGreat Kantō earthquake 1912–1926Shōwa
MilitarismFinancial crisisNanking incidentMukden IncidentInvasion of ManchuriaMay 15 incidentFebruary 26 incidentAnti-Comintern PactTripartite PactSecond Sino-Japanese WarWorld War IIAttack on Pearl HarborPacific WarAtomic bombingsSoviet–Japanese WarSurrender of JapanOccupation of JapanPostwar JapanAnpo protestsEconomic miracleAsset price bubble1926–1989Heisei
Lost DecadesGreat Hanshin earthquakeCool JapanTōhoku earthquakeImperial transition 1989–2019ReiwaCOVID-19 pandemicAbe assassinationNoto earthquake 2019–present :
Topics
Capital punishment
Currency
Earthquakes
Economy
Era names
Education
Empire
Foreign relations
Geography
Historiography
Religion
Buddhism
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Shinto
Military
Naval
Politics
Post-war
Science and technology
Sports
World Heritage Sites :
Glossary
History
Timeline :
vte :
Kōkoku (興国) was a Japanese era of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Engen and before Shōhei, lasting from April 1340 to December 1346. The emperor in Kyoto was Emperor Kōmyō (光明天皇, Kōmyō-tennō). Go-Kōgon's Southern Court rival in Yoshino during this time-frame was Emperor Go-Murakami (後村上天皇, Go-Murakami-tennō).

## Nanboku-chō overview

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.
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.
This illegitimate Northern Court (北朝, hokuchō) had been established in Kyoto by Ashikaga Takauji.

## Change of era

* Northern Court Equivalents: Ryakuō; Kōei; Jōwa

## Events of the Kōkoku Era

* 1342 (Kōtoku 3): Ichijō Tsunemichi loses his position as kampaku; and he is replaced by Kujō Michinori.
* 1342 (Kōtoku 3): Minamoto no Nagamichi (源長通) is removed from his position as daijō daijin.
* 1342 (Kōtoku 3): Kujō Michinori is replaced by Takatsukasa Morohira, who was formerly udaijin.
* 1342 (Kōtoku 3): Fujiwara no Kiyoko dies. She was the daughter of Usesugi Yorishige and the mother of Ashikaga Takauji.
* 1343 (Kōtoku 4): Nijō Yoshimoto, the author of Masukagami, was promoted from the court position of nadaijin to udaijin; and in due course, the udaijin was promoted to sadaijin. The dainagon was promoted to nadaijin.
* 1344 (Kōtoku 4): Shōgun Takauji offered prayers at Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū.