Southern Court
The book greatly encouraged the faction supporting the Southern Court during the "Nanboku-chō" period. Chikafusa's work was all the more important because of the relative weakness of the Southern Court in its extended military campaign against the Northern Court armies. The book was early recognized as a compelling and subtle analysis of the history of Japan and its emperors. From the very beginning, it was read not only by adherents of the Southern Court, but also by supporters of the Northern Court. However, its criticism of Ashikaga Takauji was not well received in Northern Court circles, and that section of the original text was omitted in manuscript copies which circulated outside the ambit of the Southern Court.