Emperor Go - Murakami This 14th - century sovereign was named after the 10th - century Emperor Murakami and " go - " ( 後 ) , translates literally as " later " ; and thus , he is sometimes called the " Later Emperor Murakami " . The Japanese word " go " has also been translated to mean the " second one " ; and in some older sources , this emperor may be identified as " Murakami , the second " , or as " Murakami II " . Events of Go - Murakami ' s life . He lived during the turbulent years of conflict between rival claimants to the Chrysanthemum Throne . The contested succession pitted what were known as the Northern and Southern Courts against each other . These years are also known as the Nanboku - chō period . When Emperor Go - Daigo began his Kemmu Restoration , the still very young prince , along with Kitabatake Akiie , in 1333 went to Tagajō in what is now Miyagi Prefecture , at the time Mutsu Province , to return the eastern samurai to their allegiance and destroy the remnants of the Hōjō clan . However , in 1335 , because Ashikaga Takauji had raised a rebellion , the Emperor returned to the west along with Kitabatake Chikafusa , the father of Akiie , in order to defeat Takauji . When Takauji defeated them in Kyōto in 1336 , they again returned to Mutsu Province . In 1337 , because Tagajō was attacked , they returned yet again to the west , returning to Yoshino while constantly fighting battles . Again , in 1338 , they headed to Tagajō , but returned to Yoshino because of a storm . In 1339 , he became Crown Prince . On September 18 of that same year , he became emperor upon the abdication of Emperor Go - Daigo . In 1348 , Kō no Moronao attacked Yoshino , and the Emperor left for modern - day Nishiyoshino Village in Yoshino District , Nara Prefecture , which was then Yamato Province . In 1352 , he entered Otokoyama in Yamashiro Province . As a result of the Battle of Shichijō Ōmiya , Kusunoki Masanori recovered Kyōto from Ashikaga Yoshiakira . At this time , the Retired Northern Emperors Kogon , Komyo , and Suko were captured and imprisoned at Otokoyama . However , a month later , they had to abandon Kyōto after a counter - attack by Ashikaga . The Emperor and his retinue were confined to Otokoyama , but escaped to Kawachi Province during an attack by Yoshiakira , and a few months later returned to Yoshino . On the eighth day of the twelfth month , 1361 , Hosokawa Kiyōji and Kusunoki Masanori , who had returned to the Southern Court ' s allegiance , attacked Kyōto , and temporarily recovered it . But , Yoshiakira quickly responded , and they evacuated Kyōto 18 days later . They continued trying to recover Kyōto , but the Southern Court ' s power was already weakening , and by the Emperor ' s death in 1368 , Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was in power and the throne had been moved to Sumiyoshi . Go - Murakami ' s tomb is known as " Hinoo no misasagi " ( 檜尾陵 ) ; it is located in the precincts of Kanshin - ji temple ( 観心寺 ) in Kawachinagano , Osaka . Kugyō . " Kugyō " ( 公卿 ) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre - Meiji eras . Even during those years in which the court ' s actual influence outside the palace walls was minimal , the hierarchic organization persisted . In general , this elite group included only three to four men at a time . These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life ' s career . During Go - Murakami ' s reign , this apex of the " Daijō - kan included : Eras of Go - Murakami ' s reign . The years of Go - Murakami ' s reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or " nengō " . Genealogy . He was the seventh son of Emperor Go - Daigo