Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan
Emperor Go-Komatsu (後小松天皇) (1377-1433) was the 100th imperial ruler of Japan. He claimed the throne from 1382 to 1412. According to the current official opinion on the Japanese government, Go-Komatsu was a pretender during the first part of his reign and did not legitimately become emperor until Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicated on December 16, 1392.
Go-Komatsu was proclaimed emperor in 1382 upon the abdication of his father, Go-En'yū. At this time, there were two rival imperial courts claiming the throne; Go-En'yū and Go-Komatsu were members of the northern court which was backed by the Ashikaga shogunate. Their rivals were a southern court which opposed the shoguns. In 1392, the shogun's armies defeated the southern court and forced their incumbent, Emperor Go-Kameyama, to abdicate, with the promise that Go-Kameyama's descendents would be considered potential heirs in the future. This promise was not kept and all the subsequent emperors were descendents of Go-Komatsu or his relatives. Because of this, the northern court was for centuries afterward seen as the true imperial family. However, since 1911, the Japanese government has declared the southern claimants prior to 1392 were actually the rightful emperors.
Go-Komatsu remained on the throne until 1412, at which point he abdicated in favor of his son, Shōkō. Go-Komatsu's southern court rivals were Emperor Chōkei from 1382 to 1383 and then Go-Kameyama until the lattter's abdication.
