Kusunoki Masatoki (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: 楠木正時, died February 4, 1348) was a Japanese

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

lord during the

Nanboku-chō period The , also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period, was a period in Japanese history between 1336-1392 CE, during the formative years of the Ashikaga shogunate, Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate. Ideologically, the two courts fought for 50 ...

. He was second-in-command during the

Battle of Shijōnawate The 1348 Battle of Shijōnawate () was a battle of the Nanboku-chō period of Japanese history, and took place in Yoshino, Nara. It was fought between the armies of the Northern and Southern Court of Japan. Overview On February 4, 1348, the wa ...

, and died in battle in 1348, along with his older brother,

Kusunoki Masatsura was the eldest son of Kusunoki Masashige (1294 – 1336), and succeeded him as the head of the Kusunoki lineage. Along with his father and his younger brothers Masanori and Masatoki, Masatsura was a supporter of the Southern Imperial Court duri ...

Life

Masatoki was the second son of

Kusunoki Masashige , or , was a Japanese military commander and samurai of the Kamakura period remembered as the ideal loyal samurai. Kusunoki fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in the Genkō War to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate and restore power in Japan to the ...

. On February 4, 1348, the

began between

of the Southern Court and

Kō no Moronao was a Japanese samurai of the Nanboku-chō period who was the first to hold the position of '' Shitsuji'' (''Shōgun''s Deputy). He was appointed by Ashikaga Takauji, the first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate. As Deputy, he served not ...

of the Northern Court. He died in the war with his elder brother, Masatsura. His ''

imina in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adoptin ...

'' name is unknown, but he is referred to as "Jirō". This is all that is known about this person from the primary sources, and even his death age is unknown.Fujiwara no, Kinsada (1903). ''新編纂図本朝尊卑分脈系譜雑類要集''. 11. Japan: Yoshikawa Kobunkan. p. 343. doi:10.11501/991593. As a secondary historical source written around his time, his ''imina'' name can be confirmed to be "Masatoki", according to ''Sonpi Bunmyaku'' by Tōin Kinsada. In addition, in ''Kanshinji Bunsho'', there are two letters dated 1349 and 1350, respectively. According to the documents of

Kanshin-ji is a Buddhist temple located in the Teramoto neighborhood of the city of Kawachinagano, Osaka Prefecture, in the Kansai region of Japan. It is one of the head temples of the Kōyasan Shingon-shū branch of Shingon Buddhism. The temple has se ...

, these letters were written by Masatoki, but considering the dates, they are believed to have been written by his brother, Masanori. In 1889, Shijonawate Shrine was established, and Masatoki became one of its worshiped deities. According to the shrine documents, he held the court rank of Senior Fourth Rank. However, it is unknown if this is historically accurate.

References

1348 deaths Samurai {{Samurai-stub People of the Nanboku-chō period 14th-century Japanese people