Legend
After the full-scale introduction of Neo-Confucianism as a state philosophy by the Tokugawa Shogunate, Kusunoki Masashige, once-called a traitor by the Northern Court, was resurrected with Emperor Go-Daigo as a precursor of Sinocentric absolutists, based upon the Neo-Confucian theories. During the Edo period, scholars and samurai who were influenced by the Neo-Confucian theories created the legend of Kusunoki and enshrined him as a patriotic hero, called Nankō (楠公) or Dai-Nankō (大楠公), who epitomized loyalty, courage, and devotion to the Emperor. Kusunoki later became a patron saint of sorts to the World War II kamikaze, who saw themselves as his spiritual heirs in sacrificing their lives for the Emperor.
Read more about this topic: Kusunoki Masashige
Famous quotes containing the word legend:
“This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
—Willis Goldbeck (1900–1979)
“We should burn all libraries and allow to remain only that which everyone knows by heart. A beautiful age of the legend would then begin.”
—Hugo Ball (1886–1927)
“Newspaperman: That was a magnificent work. There were these mass columns of Apaches in their war paint and feather bonnets. And here was Thursday leading his men in that heroic charge.
Capt. York: Correct in every detail.
Newspaperman: He’s become almost a legend already. He’s the hero of every schoolboy in America.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)