The "Jinnoshotoki" (A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns) written by Chikafusa KITABATAKE of the Southern Court during the period of the Northern and Southern Courts, for the purpose of showing the orthodoxy of the Southern Court, was the progenitor of Kokokushikan, the base was established by Mito gaku (studies) and study of Japanese classical literature which became popular during the Edo period..
南北朝時代に南朝の北畠親房が南朝の正統性を示すために著した『神皇正統記』が先駆的なものであり、江戸時代に展開した水戸学や国学でその基礎が作られた。