Kusunoki Masashige (1294-4 July 1336) was the daimyo of the Kusunoki clan and a general of Emperor Go-Daigo who assisted Go-Daigo's Rebellion in 1331-1336.
Biography[]
Masashige was born to the Kusunoki clan, descended from the Kamakura Minamoto branch of the noble Minamoto warrior family, but in 1331 he assisted Emperor Go-Daigo's rise to power over the Kamakura Shogunate. He fought the Hojo shoguns first, and then the Ashikaga when they tried to take power from the Emperor and establish their own shogunate. Leading an army of pro-Emperor troops, Masashige was brought to battle by Ashikaga Takauji in the Battle of Minatogawa. He was defeated, and he committed seppuku along with his family and all of his retainers. His loyalty is legendary, and symbolized by his posthumous awarding by the Meiji government in 1880.