Legacy
His son, Masatsura, served the emperor's successor, the 12-year-old Go-Murukami, in a relationship of reciprocal trust and devotion mirroring the figure of his father Kusunoki and keeping the flame of loyalist resistance alive. Masatsura died alongside his brother Masatoki and cousin Wada Takahide in a battle that saw the end of the Kusunoki clan and there followed a less-than-ideal scramble for power and gain among the Courts.
Kusunoki Masashige's successful defense of Chihaya castle is believed to have helped turn the tide against the Kamakura bakufu/shogunate (military rule and the first shogunate). Partly because he held out so long in his castle, Ashikaga Takauji revolted and came to the aid of the emperor, and thus ended the Kamakura bakufu. However, Ashikaga Takauji quickly learned that he did not like following the emperor's commands, and revolted again to establish his own Ashikaga bakufu (the second, middle shogunate). He was able to establish his own shogunate after defeating Kusunoki Masashige and the commander in chief Yoshisada in the final battle. Kusunoki Masashige tried to intervene and bring Ashikaga Takauji back to the emperor's side, but the emperor rejected this plan.
Read more about this topic: Kusunoki Masashige
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)