Kenmu (建武) was a Japanese era name of the Northern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Shōkei and before Ryakuō. Although Kemmu is understood by the Southern Court as having begun at the same time, the era was construed to have begun after Genkō and before Engen.
This period spanned the years from January 1334 through August 1338 in the North,[1] and until only February 1336 in the Southern Court.[2] The reigning Emperors were Emperor Go-Daigo in the south and Emperor Kōmyō in the north.[3]
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 been established in exile in Yoshino, near Nara.[4]
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.[4]
This illegitimate Northern Court had been established in KyotobyAshikaga Takauji.[4]
| Preceded by | Northern Era or nengō 1334-1338 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Southern Era or nengō 1333-1336 |
Succeeded by |