Basara daimyo (unconventional warriors) in general more or less downplayed conventional authority such as the Imperial Court, but for Tadayoshi, the Retired Emperor Kogon was the only authority (chiten no kimi (supreme ruler)) that guaranteed a legitimate reason for the appointment of his older brother, Takauji, to Seii Taishogun (literally, "great general who subdues the barbarians") and the reason for Emperor Komyo's ascent to the throne, and therefore, Tadayoshi thought that forgiving his behavior would threaten his authority and would negate the legitimacy of the Muromachi bakufu.
婆娑羅大名には多かれ少なかれ朝廷などの旧来の権威を軽んじる風潮があったが、直義にとって光厳上皇は兄・尊氏の征夷大将軍任命とそれを行った光明天皇の即位に対する大義名分を保障する唯一の権威（治天の君）であり、その権威を揺るがす行為を容認することは室町幕府の正統性そのものを否定することにもつながりかねない事と考えていた。