[2] He left behind his 4-year-old son Yoshiakira as his representative in the trust of three guardians: Hosokawa Kiyouji, Uesugi Noriaki, and Shiba Ienaga.

[3] This action however formally divided the country in two, giving the east and the west two separate administrations with similar authority and powers.

[2][3] However, the first time the Kanto Kubō title appears in writing is in a 1382 entry of the Tsurugaoka Jishoan (鶴岡事書安), after Motouji's death.

[5][6] Motouji and all the Kantō Kubō that followed him resided in the Ashikaga clan's family mansion in today's Jōmyōji neighborhood in the east of Kamakura.

[7] At the location now stands a black memorial stele, whose inscription reads: After Minamoto no Yoritomo founded his shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshikane[b] made this place his residence.

In 1455 kubō Ashikaga Shigeuji, after clashing with Uesugi Noritada, moved to Ibaraki's Shimōsa Province and the residence was demolished.

[8] Since Motouji was then just a child, real power was in the hands of two shitsuji Uesugi Noriaki and Kō no Morofuyu, men Takauji trusted.

[5] After Takauji's death, Nitta Yoshioki meant to attack Kamakura again, but Motouji had him caught and drowned in a river in 1358.