Kusunoki Masanori (died 1390) was the daimyo of the Kusunoki clan during the Nanboku-cho period.
Biography[]
Kusunoki Masanori and his brother Kusunoki Masatsura sided with Nitta Yoshisada and Go-Daigo's cause during his rebellion against the Kamakura Shogunate and his war with the Ashikaga, and in 1348 he took over the Kusunoki clan when his brother was slain at the Battle of Shijonawate. In 1352, Kusunoki led the loyalist capture of Kyoto after taking over Mount Hiei from the Rokkaku clan's forces, but he was forced to retreat when Ashikaga Takauji recaptured the city. In 1369, his fourth attempt at taking Kyoto failed, and he gave up and was regarded as a traitor by the Southern Court. As peace negotiations began, he retired as a strategist and general and died in 1390.