Gokomatsu Tenno was born in 1377. He was the first son of Emperor Goen-yi. Was named after the 9th-century Emperor Kōkō. The Japanese word go has also been translated to mean the "second one", and in some older sources, this would-be emperor may be identified as "Komatsu, the second", or as "Komatsu II."
He ascended the Throne in 1382. He was raised in the turbulent Nanboku-chō period of rival northern and southern courts in the mansion of Hino Sukenori. He succeeded as Northern Emperor upon the abdication of his father, the Northern Pretender Emperor Go-En'yū. With the help of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, his father ruled as Cloistered Emperor. In 1392, following the post-Nanboku-chō unification of the two formerly contending courts, the Southern Emperor Emperor Go-Kameyama turned over the three sacred treasures, which officially signaled the end of the southern court's claims to sovereignty. Thus, Emperor Go-Komatsu became the acknowledged, undisputed and legitimate emperor of Japan on October 21, 1392.
In his own lifetime, Go-Komatsu and those around him believed that he occupied the Chrysanthemum Throne from May 24, 1382 through 1412.
The present Japanese Imperial Family is descended from the Northern Court emperors.
