Kusunoki Masashige: Loyal To The End

Today’s Story From the Museum Floor, is from Maxine from the Visitor Team where she takes a closer look at the legendary Samurai Kusunoki Masashige.

For more about our Living Cultures collections have a look at the Curator’s blog.

 

Kusunoki Masashige 1294 – 1336

I chose to write this post about my favourite object in the museum.  It is a stunning ivory carving of the samurai warrior Kusunoki Masashige which was bequeathed by Robert Wylie Lloyd in 1958 and is housed on our Living Cultures gallery (now closed temporarily due to our upcoming redevelopment).

 

Ivory carving of Kusunoki Masashige. Manchester Museum collection online.

One of the most amazing things about this object is the fact that most of it has been carved from a single piece of ivory, with the exception of the horses front leg, tail, and the warrior’s samurai sword (known as a Katana). You really need to look closely at the object, and it is only then that you realise just how beautiful an artefact this is. However, the currently displayed information does not tell the whole story.

This led me to the question, who exactly was this warrior? And why was he held in such esteem to have been carved so carefully and with such love and dedication?  So like Jessica Fletcher (the detective from Murder She Wrote) I set about trying to unravel the mystery of this ancient samurai.

 An artists depiction of Kusunoki Masashige (Source)

So who was he and what did he do?

Kusunoki Masashige was a military leader who supported Emperor Go-Daigo’s revolt to try and restore Imperial power during the 1330s (known as the Genkō War). The shōgunate had dominated Japan since 1192. Japanese shōguns were a hereditary military dictatorship, and Emperor Go-Daigo wanted to bring power back to the Imperial house.

Though Kusunoki soon became known as a brilliant military tactician, little to nothing is known about this warrior prior to his involvement with the emperor’s revolt. Records do show that he was a land owner and was one of the few who took up the call to arms when emperor Go-Daigo asked for help. Not much is known about the Masashige family or their ancestry before this time, or where they came from, but what we do know is that the Taiheiki states that Kusunoki was descended from Tachibana Moroye, an influential nobleman and scholar, but this, along with the Kusunoki’s presumed Minamoto ties, have never been verified.

Born: 1294, Kawachi Province
Died: 5 July 1336, Chūō-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
Place of burial: Kanshin-ji, Kawachinagano, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Children: Kusunoki Masatsura

In the name of the emperor

Kusunoki began by winning a few minor battles against the Shogunate also known as the Bakufu. He then lead an army of 2000 to defend the imperial city of Kyoto where, in response, the Bakufu sent a 5000 strong force to meet him in battle. However the two leaders of the Bakufu were over confident, so Kusunoki, employed misleading maneuvers to convince the Bakufu warriors that they were plunging headlong into a trap causing them to flee back across the Watanabe Bridge. His victories may have helped in the call to arms, encouraging other samurai to come and fight for the cause.

Go-Daigo, 96th Emperor of Japan (1288 – 1339)

In early 1330’s the Bakufu army marched once again on Kyoto where the emperor’s army were holding down three different strongholds and one of these, Chihaya castle, was defended by Kusunoki and he had prepared the castle so that if the enemy tried to cut off the water supply in the aqueduct it wouldn’t be a major problem. This battle would be among the bloodiest in this campaign, and Kusunoki employed many tactics to defend his position.  The early assaults were repelled with the greatest bloodshed. Kusunoki used every possible device to maximize the defensive capabilities of his men, including rockslides, boiling water, and pitfalls. A great many died as logs were rolled down on to the attacking shōgunate troops, crushing entire ranks of men and wearing down their morale. All of this is known thanks to the Taiheiki historical epic, which gives a detailed writted record of the events.

During this battle they needed eye witnesses to record the names of the fallen, so they had twelve men writing night and day for three days without rest! That sure is a lot of dead men.

Tragedy: The beginning of the end

So what was the final outcome for our samurai? First of all the true power in the countryside was held by the hereditary lords (the daimyō), chiefly Ashikaga Takauji and Nitta Yoshisada, who vied to gain the loyalty of the small group of fighting chieftains.

Go-Daigo sided with Nitta Yoshisada. Kusunoki was head of the army at this point and he defeated Takauji’s army in January 1336 when he had fled from the capital.  However a few months later he would return with an army and navy of his own and total annihilation on his mind.

Go-Daigo refused to leave the capital and he ordered Kusunoki to fight the much larger army in direct combat. It was at this point where Kusunoki’s actions would make him the outstanding warrior and symbol of loyalty that he became. Against all his better judgment and despite advising the emperor it would not be a good idea to attack, Kusunoki followed his orders knowing full well how it would end. As such he made sure to leave a death poem with his young son Masatsura before marching into battle and certain death.

The great battle took place at Minatogawa, now in modern day Chuo-ku, Kobe.  It was a tactical disaster. When the battle was over Kusunoki had survived along with only 73 of his original 700 horsemen, and they were completely surrounded. Instead of being captured he chose to commit suicide (seppuku) along with his brother Masasue, 11 close clan members and 60 others. Legend has it that these were his brother’s last words:

“Shichisei Hōkoku!” (七生報國; “Would that I had seven lives to give for my emperor!”)  Kusunoki Masashige agreed.

The Great Battle of Kusunoki by Utugawa Sadahide, currently housed in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts

In the year 1900 a statue of Kusunoki was erected and placed in the main public plaza in front of the the Tokyo Imperial Palace where it still to this day and remains a major landmark. Kusunoki was held up as a shining example of imperial loyalty and became a national hero. It is here that my mystery about this warrior ends (I hope Jessica Fletcher would be proud) he sure sounded like a formidable man of his time.

Maxine Carson-Byrne

References & Further Reading
The Samurai Archives
Manuscript scans of the Taiheiki (Waseda University Library)
Genkō War
Bushido – the samurai code of honour
And in case you’re ever in Tokyo…