Emperor Go-Daigo
was a general in the Nanboku-chō period of Japanese history. Takemitsu was the 9th son of Kikuchi Taketoki, and fought on the side of Emperor Go-Daigo as his father had done, a strong and dependable ally to Prince Kaneyoshi (懐良親王, also known as Kanenaga) (1326–1383) (son of the emperor Go-Daigo]]) in the struggle against the Kamakura shogunate . His most famed battle is the Battle of Oohobaru, fought on the banks of the Chikugo river in Kyūshū, in which he was victorious.