Although the notion of "Tenka" once became out of use in the Heian period according to the development of the dynastic state, it again started to be used according to the development of samurai society as the word which was almost synonymous with "Japan," as shown by the fact that the establishment of the Kamakura bakufu was understood as "the creation of Tenka."
王朝国家の進展に伴って、平安時代には一時「天下」の概念は廃れるが、鎌倉幕府の成立が「天下の草創」と認識されたように、武家社会の進展に伴って日本とほぼ同義の意味で使用されるようになった。