Born a son of Emperor Go-Uda; his name was Takaharu. Fond of learning, he took an interest in Song Neo-Confucianism.
He took the throne at 30. Two imperial lines then alternated on the throne, arbitrated by the shogunate, and Go-Daigo grew resentful of both the arrangement and the shogunate itself.
He ended his father's cloistered rule and governed in person, reviving the Records Office and handling lawsuits himself.
His plan to overthrow the shogunate leaked and courtiers such as Hino Suketomo were punished (Shōchū Incident). The emperor himself escaped blame—and did not give up.
A second plot was exposed; he left Kyoto and held out on Mount Kasagi. Kusunoki Masashige and others rose in support, but Kasagi fell and the emperor was captured.
The shogunate exiled him to the Oki Islands (Shimane). Yet across the land Kusunoki Masashige, Prince Moriyoshi and others fought on against the shogunate.
He escaped Oki and was received by Nawa Nagatoshi at Mount Senjō in Hōki (Tottori). Ashikaga Takauji took the Rokuhara office in Kyoto and Nitta Yoshisada took Kamakura; the Kamakura shogunate fell and the emperor returned to Kyoto.
He renamed the era Kenmu and began emperor-centered rule. But favoring court nobles, unfair rewards for warriors and hasty reforms caused confusion; a satirical lampoon mocking the new government appeared at Nijō-gawara in Kyoto.
Hōjō remnants seized Kamakura (Nakasendai Rebellion). Ashikaga Takauji marched there without permission, crushed the revolt, and then turned against the new government.
Takauji defeated Kusunoki Masashige at Minatogawa, entered Kyoto and set up another emperor, Kōmyō. Go-Daigo slipped secretly out of Kyoto to Yoshino (Nara), insisting he was the true emperor—the start of the era of Northern and Southern Courts.
Kitabatake Akiie and Nitta Yoshisada, on whom he relied, both fell in battle, leaving the Southern Court in dire straits.
He fell ill at Yoshino, passed the throne to his son (Emperor Go-Murakami) and died. The Taiheiki says he declared that though his body be buried in Yoshino's moss, his soul would ever gaze toward Kyoto's sky. Ashikaga Takauji built Tenryū-ji to console his spirit.
Nijō YoshimotoAshikaga YoshiakiraKusunoki MasashigeNitta YoshisadaAshikaga TakaujiMusō SosekiAkamatsu Enshin (Norimura)Kitabatake Chikafusa
Musō SosekiAkamatsu Enshin (Norimura)Kitabatake ChikafusaKusunoki MasashigeSasaki DōyoKō no MoronaoNitta YoshisadaAshikaga Takauji
People of the Muromachi period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.