Under the new Kenmu government he was placed in Kamakura with the support of his uncle, Tadayoshi ASHIKAGA, and fought the Southern Dynasty (Japan) alongside his father when Takauji became alienated from the Kenmu regime, mostly ruling the Kanto region in Kamakura.
建武の新政では、叔父である足利直義に支えられて鎌倉に置かれ、尊氏が建武政権から離反すると、父とともに南朝(日本)と戦い、主に鎌倉において関東を統治した。