Takauji, regaining his power, moved eastward to recapture Kyoto, while Yorikane, as Shugo (provincial constable) of Iwami Province, put his emphasis on the extension of the Northern Court's and the Muromachi bakufu's influence and the elimination of the Southern Court's influence in western part of Japan.
やがて、尊氏が勢力を盛り返して京都奪還のために東上すると、石見国守護に補任され、西国における北朝・幕府勢力の拡大と南朝勢力の追討に尽力している。