Inspiration from the Statue of Kusunoki Masashige
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:::::::Kusunoki Masashige - The Loyal Warrior:::::::::
A brilliant tactician and strategist, Kusunoki's cunning defense of two key Loyalist fortresses at Akasaka and Chihaya helped allow Go-Daigo to briefly return to power. However, one of the loyalist generals, Ashikaga Takauji, betrayed Go-Daigo and led an army against Kusunoki and the remaining loyalists. Kusunoki suggested to the Emperor that they take refuge on sacred Mount Hiei and allow Takauji to take Kyoto, only to swoop down from the mountain, and with the help of the monks of Mount Hiei, trap Takauji in the city and destroy him.
Go-Daigo was unwilling to leave the capital however, and insisted that Kusunoki meet Takauji's superior forces in the field in a pitched battle. Kusunoki, in what would later be viewed as the ultimate act of samurai loyalty, obediently accepted his Emperor's foolish command, left his death poem with his young son Masatsura and knowingly marched his army into almost certain death. Kusunoki, his army completely surrounded, down to only 73 of the original 700 horsemen, committed suicide along with his brother Masasue, 11 close clan members, and 60 others.
From:[link]
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[link]
:::::::Kusunoki Masashige - The Loyal Warrior:::::::::
A brilliant tactician and strategist, Kusunoki's cunning defense of two key Loyalist fortresses at Akasaka and Chihaya helped allow Go-Daigo to briefly return to power. However, one of the loyalist generals, Ashikaga Takauji, betrayed Go-Daigo and led an army against Kusunoki and the remaining loyalists. Kusunoki suggested to the Emperor that they take refuge on sacred Mount Hiei and allow Takauji to take Kyoto, only to swoop down from the mountain, and with the help of the monks of Mount Hiei, trap Takauji in the city and destroy him.
Go-Daigo was unwilling to leave the capital however, and insisted that Kusunoki meet Takauji's superior forces in the field in a pitched battle. Kusunoki, in what would later be viewed as the ultimate act of samurai loyalty, obediently accepted his Emperor's foolish command, left his death poem with his young son Masatsura and knowingly marched his army into almost certain death. Kusunoki, his army completely surrounded, down to only 73 of the original 700 horsemen, committed suicide along with his brother Masasue, 11 close clan members, and 60 others.
From:[link]
