Kō no Morofuyu

Kō no Morofuyu (高師冬, d. 13 February 1351 (Nengocalc: Kannō 2, 17th day, 1st month))[1] was, together with his cousins[2] Moronao and Moroyasu, one of shōgun Ashikaga Takauji's most important generals during the Nanboku-chō period.

[3] In 1338, together with cousin Moroyasu, he went to fight against Southern Court forces in Aonohara, Mino Province, to help contain Kitabatake Akiie, who was threatening Kyoto.

[1][3] He proved successful in this role against both the pro-Ashikaga Tadayoshi Uesugi clan and against Hitachi Province's Kitabatake Chikafusa, who was the main military force behind the Southern court.

[3][6] Since Motouji was then just a child, real power was in the hands of the two shitsuji Uesugi Noriaki and Morofuyu himself, men who were politically enemies.

[3] In 1350, during the so-called Kannō disturbance, a civil war that saw the two Ashikaga brothers fight each other, the differences between the two deepened past the breaking point.