Bunchū

Bunchū (文中) was a Japanese era name (年号, nengō, lit.

[2] 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 (南朝, nanchō) had been established in exile in Yoshino, near Nara.

[3] 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.

[3] This illegitimate Northern Court (北朝, hokuchō) had been established in Kyoto by Ashikaga Takauji.

[3] In this time frame, Ōan (1368–1375) was the Southern Court equivalent nengō.

The Imperial seats during the Nanboku-chō period were in relatively close proximity, but geographically distinct. They were conventionally identified as: