Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358) founded the second shogunate, the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate. Takauji is infamous for taking up arms against the Emperor Go-Daigo in 1335, driving him from Kyoto and setting Emperor Komyo on the throne. Takauji has been condemned in modern times because of his mistreatment of Go-Daigo. The vilification goes back to the middle of the Tokugawa period. Scholars from the School of National Studies were reviving the importance of the emperors, in contrast to the shoguns, so a ‘usurper’ like Takauji was heavily criticized. The influence of these scholars is seen in the example of Takayama Hikokuro who is said to have made a point of whipping Takauji’s grave at Tojiin temple in Kyoto.
