In the liberal atmosphere after the end of the World War II, when figures like Hiromichi KUMAZAWA, the so-called 'Emperor Kumazawa,' appeared and each claimed that only he himself was the legitimate successor to the Emperor, most of these self-styled Emperors were reacting to the fact that in 1911 Emperor Meiji had decided that the Southern lineage was the legitimate one, and came forward claiming to be descendants of the Southern dynasty.
太平洋戦争後の開放的気分の中で「熊沢天皇」こと熊沢寛道など、自らを正統な天皇の継承者と称する自称天皇たちが現れたとき、その多くは、1911年（明治44年）に明治天皇の裁断によって南朝が正統とされたことを受けて、後南朝の子孫と主張していた。