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Kusunoki Masashige

Type Figure Region Japan Time 1294–1336 Also known as Lord Kusunoki Masashige

A military commander from the late Kamakura to Kenmu period, born of a powerful family in Kawachi Province, best known as Emperor Go-Daigo's most loy…

Timeline

  1. 1321–1330Kawachi Province · KinkiIn the 1320s Kusunoki Masashige developed his domain and armed forces in Kawachi Province, gradually establishing contact with Emperor Go-Daigo's plans to overthrow the shogunate; famed for surprise attacks and guerrilla tactics, by around 1330 he had become a key military pillar of the emperor's anti-shogunate network in the Kansai region.
  2. 1331–1333Chihaya Castle · KinkiAfter the Genkō Disturbance broke out in 1331, Masashige held Chihaya Castle against the shogunate's large army, famed for winning against the odds and holding out in prolonged sieges; though he briefly lost the castle in 1332, he continued fighting across Kinki, and in 1333, cooperating with Ashikaga Takauji, Nitta Yoshisada and others in the capture of Kamakura, he won crucial merits for the successful overthrow of the shogunate.
  3. 1334–1336Minatogawa · KinkiAfter the successful overthrow of the shogunate, Masashige was appointed Governor of Kawachi and continued to serve the Kenmu court; after Ashikaga Takauji's defection in 1336, Masashige led a small force against Takauji's large army at the Battle of Minatogawa, fighting to the death, while his son Kusunoki Masayuki also died in battle the same day.

Sources