In the history of Japan, there was also a long period of division, and the reason for the split was, in the final analysis, the struggle between imperial power and power. Emperor Go-Daigo was one of the few ambitious kings in Japanese history, and after he succeeded to the throne, he was dissatisfied with the control of the Kamakura shogunate, so he actively planned to overthrow the curtain, and after several tribulations, after several exiles and restorations, he finally succeeded in overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate with the help of the Ashikaga Takashi clan (Ashikaga Takashi clan).
However, just when Emperor Go-Daigo thought he could hold power alone and was ambitiously preparing to reform Japan, he was sniped by the Ashikaga Clan; why? Because Ashikaga Washi was also an ambitious man, his power expanded rapidly by helping Emperor Go-Daigo overthrow the Kamakura shogunate, and he was not so loyal to the emperor, he wanted to become a new shogun and form his own shogunate.
This led to a conflict between the Ashikaga clan and Emperor Go-Daigo, which eventually led to a great war between the two; after defeating Masanari Nangi and Yoshisada Nitta at the Battle of Minatogawa, the Ashikaga clan marched into Kyoto, and Emperor Go-Daigo fled to Mount Hiei to resist; later, in desperation, they reconciled with the Ashikaga clan and handed over the three artifacts. The Ashikaga clan allowed Emperor Kōgen to open the imperial government, and Emperor Hikari, who held the ming court, took the throne, formulated the Kenbu style and opened the Muromachi shogunate.
However, Emperor Go-Daigo was also very powerful, and he escaped from the forbidden Hanayama-in temple, claiming that the three artifacts handed over to the Ashikaga Clan were fakes, and he himself fled to Yoshino in yamato province to open the Southern Dynasty Imperial Court, thus beginning the Southern and Northern Dynasties era in Japan. In addition, he also sent the Crown Prince to various places to confront the Northern Dynasty and the Muromachi shogunate. However, at that time, the Northern Dynasty was far stronger than the Southern Dynasty, so he eventually died after leaving his last words to "destroy the enemies of the Dprk and retake Kyoto".
The situation between the Southern and Northern Dynasties lasted for about 56 years, and after many attacks and defenses, the Southern Dynasty's power declined, and finally the Southern Dynasty Emperor Kameyama handed over the three artifacts to Emperor Komatsu of the Northern Dynasty, ending the Era of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Although this kind of thing is not a big deal to us, it is a big deal for the Japanese imperial family, especially during the reform of the Meiji Emperor, when the first article of the Meiji Constitution stipulated: "The Empire of Japan is ruled by the emperor of the Wanshi lineage." ”
After all, there has been no situation in which two emperors exist at the same time, but the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties is a bit difficult to handle, after all, whether it is the Northern Dynasty or the Southern Dynasty, it is the royal family of the Eight Classics of Zheng'er, and they are his direct ancestors, if both are admitted, then the "Ten Thousand Generations one lineage" and the "One Generation Unity System" are a huge impact, so this matter must have a clear decision.
At that time, the well-known scholar Yukitoku Akimizu had raised this issue with Emperor Meiji, and Emperor Meiji was also very troubled by this problem, and after repeated discussions with many scholars and ministers, he finally came to the conclusion that the Emperor of the Southern Dynasty was the orthodoxy of Japan, and the Emperor of the Northern Dynasty retained the name, but was not included in the orthodoxy. Many people said that they could not understand emperor Meiji's operation, obviously in the end it was the northern dynasty that won, why was the southern dynasty orthodox? From any point of view, the Northern Dynasty is orthodox?
In fact, this has to involve the issue of the inheritance of the Japanese imperial family, when the Japanese emperor succeeded to the throne, there is a very important ceremony, that is, the transfer of the three artifacts (The Heavenly Cong Cloud Sword, the Eight Feet of Qionggou Jade, and the Eight Mirrors), these three artifacts are treasures inherited by the Japanese emperors from generation to generation, and have been used as the relics of the Japanese imperial family for two thousand years, that is, only the emperor who really holds the three artifacts is the orthodox emperor; and the Meiji Emperor is also based on this to determine who is the orthodox of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
However, Emperor Meiji hid a selfish heart here, the three artifacts are just a statement, in fact, if he wants to say that the Northern Dynasty is orthodox, naturally there is another way to say; the reason why Emperor Meiji said that the Southern Dynasty is orthodox is because although the Southern Dynasty is weak, the Emperor of the Southern Dynasty controls absolute power, and although the Northern Dynasty is powerful, the Emperor is only a puppet, and the real ruler is the Ashikaga clan of the Muromachi shogunate; Emperor Meiji is very disgusted with the shogunate's rule, so from the heart of the heart, he is reluctant to recognize the Northern Dynasty.