Kusunoki Masatsura
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Kusunoki Masatsura (楠木正行?)(1326-1348), along with his father Masashige and brother Masanori, was a supporter of the Southern Imperial Court during Japan's Nanbokucho Wars.
Masatsura was one of the primary military leaders who revived the Southern Court in the 1340s. The Court had had little to no resources for three years; the strategy was too focused on defending their base at Yoshino, and not on gaining allies, land, or income. The Kusunoki family, and Masatsura in particular, fought to gain power and support for the Emperor. In 1347, Masatsura led an attack on bakufu (shogunate) sympathizers in Kii Province and ended up attracting supporters from Kii, as well as Izumi and Settsu Provinces. When the Shogun's Northern Court sent Hosokawa Akiuji to stop him, Masatsura met Hosokawa and defeated him in the battle of Sakainoura.
After several more campaigns against the bakufu, Masatsura was killed in the Battle of Shijō Nawate, in February 1348 at the age of 22. Before he died, he composed a death poem:
帰へらじと 兼ねて思へば 梓弓 亡き数に入る 名をぞとどむる
kaeraji to kanete omoeba azusayumi nakikazu ni iru na wo zotodomuru
I have a feeling I will not be returning, so among the names of those who died by the bow I inscribe my own.
[edit] References
- Sansom, George (1961). "A History of Japan: 1334-1615." Stanford: Stanford University Press.
- Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.
