Kusunoki (clan)

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The Kusunoki ( Japanese 楠 氏 Kusunoki-shi ) were a family of the Japanese sword nobility ( Buke ) , which was derived from Tachibana no Moroe (橘 諸兄, 684-757). The family track is lost after 1600.

genealogy

Kusunoki Masashige
  • Masashige (正 成; 1294-1336) resided east of the temple on Mount Kongōn (金剛山) in the Kawachi province . When Emperor Go-Daigo was expelled from Kyoto by Hōjō Takatori in 1331 and fled to Mount Kasagi, he turned to Masashige for help. Masashige raised troops, fortified the Kongō, built the castles of Akasaka (赤 坂 城) and Chihaya (千 早 城) and fought with the Hōjō. After Nitta Yoshisada had conquered Kamakura in 1333, Masashige priest Kembō on Mount Iiyama (飯 山) and was able to pacify the region. As a reward, he received the title Kawachi no Kami (河内 上), and the provinces of Settsu, Kawachi and Izumi were subordinate to him. When Ashikaga Takauji made an uprising in Kantō-Regio in 1335, Nitta Yoshisada marched against him, while Masashige stayed in Kyoto to protect the city. After Yoshisada was defeated by Takauchi at Hakone, he marched against Kyoto. Masashige went out to catch him, but was beaten at Uji, so that Go-Daigo had to seek refuge in the monastery on Mount Hiei in 1336. Yoshisada teamed up with Yūki Munehiro , Nawa Nagatoshi and others, attacked Takauchi, put him to flight and was able to bring the emperor back to Kyoto. But Takauchi soon returned from Kyushu with a large army. Masashige and Yoshisada attacked him in the province of Hyōgo on the Minato River , fought bravely, but could not withstand the overwhelming odds. Masahige, wounded in eleven places, committed seppuku with his brother Masasue . After his death, the emperor gave him the title of Sakone-e-chūjo and the rank of Shō-san-i (正 三位). After the Meiji Restoration , Masashige was awarded the rank of Jū-ichi-i (従 一位) in 1871. A temple called Nankō-san was built in his honor on the spot where he fell.
  • Masaie (正 家; died 1348) was a relative of Masashige, who served as head during the immaturity of Matsuura, Masashige's eldest son. After the Battle of Minatogawa, he retired to Urizura (瓜 連) in Hitachi Province . He was attacked there by the northern troops, but was able to put them to flight, killing the two leading generals, Satake Yoshifuyu and Gotō Motoaki. In the following year (1337) he accompanied Kitabatake Akiie (北 畠 顕 家; 1318-1338) on his campaign to Kyoto. When Masatsuru took control of the clan, Masaie served under him. Both fell in the Battle of Shijōnawate (四條 畷) in Kawachi Province.
Kusunoki Masatsura
  • Masatsura (正 行; 1326–1348), the eldest son of Masashige, was only ten years old when his father died. In 1347 he took over the leadership of the clan and took over the leadership against the Ashikaga. He drove Hosokawa Akiuji, who had invaded Kawachi Province, to flight and beat Yamana Tokiuchi, who wanted to help Hosokawa. Then Takauchi Kō Moronao (高 師 直, died 1351) and Moroyasu (高 師 泰, died 1351) with 60,000 men against Masatsura in the field. This defended himself, along with his brother Masatoki and his cousin Wada Takahide, bravely at Shijonawate, but was outnumbered by the enemy and was overwhelmed. He was only 20 years old. A shrine, Shijōnawate jinja, was built on the site where he found his death.
  • Masanori (正義; died 1390) was the youngest son of Masashige. After the death of his brother he took over the Kusunoki clan. He moved out in 1361 and beat Sasaki and then, following Hosokawa Kiyouji, who had just decided on the south courtyard, he took over Kyoto. From there he was expelled a month later by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiakira . He joined Wada Masatake, won a battle against the Shogun's troops and returned to Kawachi. After the death of Emperor Go-Murakami in 1368, he broke from the family tradition, joined Hosokawa Yoriyuki and submitted to the Ashikaga. He was then attacked by his former ally Wada Masatake, but was able to reject him with the support of the Ashikaga. Then Masanori besieged the emperor in the south in 1373 in his fortified position on Kongō-zan. In 1378 he undertook a new campaign with his son Masakatsu. After a change to the other side, which had granted him 12 years, he again submitted to Emperor Go-Kameyama .
  • Masaskatsu (正 勝) was the eldest son of Masanori. He continued the fight against di Ashikaga even after the two imperial courts had reunited. In 1392 he undertook, together with Ōuchi Yoshihiro, a rebellion, which was suppressed.
  • Masamoto (正 元; died 1402), brother of Masakatsu, planned the assassination of the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu . That was discovered, he was killed by Urakami Yukiage in 1402.
  • Mitsumasa (光 正), a descendant of Masanori, attempted to assassinate Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori and bring a prince of the southern dynasty to the throne. He was arrested and beheaded at the Rokujōgahara (六条 ヶ 原) execution site near Kyoto.
  • Masatora (正 虎), a descendant of Masanori, again bore the title Kawachi no kami. He served the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki and was Shitsuji of the Oda Nobunaga. He shaved his head and received the title Shikibugyō-hōin (式 奉行 法 印). On instructions from Toyotomi Hideyoshi , he wrote in 1588 the broad description of the visit of two emperors to the palace Jūrakutei (聚 楽 亭) in Kyoto.

At the time of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, due to the historical merits of Masashige, a search was made for a descendant of his to give him a title at court. Many candidates came forward, but no one could prove their parentage. The name Kusunoki did not appear among the nobility of the Meiji period.

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b This was first the fifth highest and then the second highest honor bestowed by the emperor.
  2. ↑ The Shitsuji (執事) had various tasks over the years. At the time of the Ashikaga it was the office of master of ceremonies.

literature

  • Edmond Papinot: Kusonoki . In: Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan. Reprint of the 1910 edition. Tuttle, 1972, ISBN 0-8048-0996-8 .