Meitoku Era

Meitoku lasted from 1390 to 1394, with Emperor Go-Komatsu in the Northern Court, Emperor Go-Kameyama in the Southern Court, and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as shogun. In the twelfth month of 1391, the powerful provincial governors Yamana Ujikiyo and Yamana Mitsuyuki rose against the shogunate and were defeated at Uchino in Kyoto, where Ujikiyo fell (the Meitoku Rebellion). The Yamana, who held so many provinces they were called "one-sixth of Japan", lost much of their power. In 1392 the Northern and Southern Courts were unified (the Meitoku Accord), and the three imperial regalia passed from Go-Kameyama to Go-Komatsu.

In swordmaking, the fashion for very long tachi of the Nanbokucho period subsided, and Bizen was in transition toward the Oei-Bizen work of smiths such as Morimitsu and Yasumitsu. Influence of the Soshu tradition and a settling toward practical lengths can be seen as the age grew calmer.

Socially, Yoshimitsu curbed the strongest governors and established shogunal authority, laying the foundation for the stable warrior society of the following Oei era. Swords of the Meitoku period mark a stylistic turning point against the end of Nanbokucho turmoil and the consolidation of the Muromachi shogunate.