In 1352 he was appointed as the Seii Taishogun (literally, "great general who subdues the barbarians"), however he could not continue to occupy Kamakura, and he tried to take his power back at Echigo, but finally returned to Okawara again.
翌1352年（正平七年/文和元年）には征夷大将軍に任じられたが、結局鎌倉を占領し続けることはできず、越後で再起を図るも、結局はふたたび大河原の地に戻る。