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From High Monk to Guerrilla Commander — The Battles of Prince Moriyoshi

Prince Moriyoshi, son of Emperor Go-Daigo, rose to become head abbot of the Tendai school — the highest rank in Buddhism. But he returned to lay life to join his father's anti-shogunate cause, waging guerrilla war in the mountains of Yoshino and Kumano and rallying warriors nationwide.

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Prince Moriyoshi, son of Emperor Go-Daigo, rose to become head abbot of the Tendai school — the highest rank in Japanese Buddhism. But when his father plotted against the shogunate, he returned to lay life and waged guerrilla war in the mountains of Yoshino and Kumano, issuing edicts that rallied warriors nationwide. After the shogunate fell he became shogun, but clashed bitterly with the rising Ashikaga Takauji.

Portrait of Emperor Go-Daigo — Moriyoshi's father, whose anti-shogunate cause led Moriyoshi to transform from high monk to warrior

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Kinpusenji, Yoshino — central temple of the Yoshino mountains where Moriyoshi waged guerrilla war against the shogunate

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Mount Yoshino, Nara — the rugged mountains Moriyoshi used as a guerrilla base, later the seat of the Southern Court

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Prince Moriyoshi