Masayuki Kusunoki

Japanese: 楠木正行 - くすのき・まさつら

Year of death: 4th year of Sadawa/5th year of Shohei (4th February 1348)
Year of birth: Year of birth unknown. Military commander during the Northern and Southern Courts period. Eldest son of Kusunoki Masashige. Known as Saemon-no-jo and Tatewaki. According to the "Taiheiki," Masayuki was 11 years old when his father Masashige was defeated and killed in the battle of Minatogawa (Kobe City) in 1336 (Kenmu 3/Engen 1). If we believe this, he would have been born in 1326 (Kareya 1), but there is no definite proof. His father Masashige sent Masayuki back to his base in Kawachi Province (Osaka Prefecture) from Sakurai, Settsu Province (Shimamoto Town, Osaka Prefecture) before the battle with the forces of Ashikaga Takauji and Tadayoshi at Minatogawa, hoping for a comeback. This is what is commonly referred to as the "Farewell at Sakurai." After Masashige's death, Masayuki inherited Masashige's estate and served as the provincial governor and guardian of Kawachi Province, becoming the center of the Southern Court forces in the Kinai region. In 1347 (Sadawa 3/Shohei 2), when the Southern Court's central figure Kitabatake Chikafusa's advocacy of war became mainstream, Masayuki also raised an army together with the Southern Court forces in the eastern and western regions of Japan. Masayuki fought in Kii, Kawachi, and Settsu, and the shogunate sent Hosokawa Akiuji to Kawachi to suppress the revolt, but Masayuki's forces were defeated. The shogunate then sent Yamana Tokiuji's army as reinforcements, but Masayuki's forces fought against them at Sumiyoshi and Tennoji in Settsu, and were defeated after fierce battles. Growing increasingly concerned by this situation, the shogunate finally sent the brothers Takanobu Moronao and Moroyasu to Kawachi. In January of the 4th year of Sadawa (Sadawa 4/Shohei 3), they fought against them at Shijonawate in Kawachi Province (Osaka), but the battle became so fierce that Masayuki and his younger brother Masatoki committed suicide by stabbing each other. Before the Battle of Shijonawate, Masayuki paid his respects at the mausoleum of Emperor Godaigo in Yoshino, and then, before setting out, he wrote a death poem on the door panel of the main hall of Nyorinji Temple with arrowheads: "As I have no desire to return, I will leave my name in the ranks of those without my bow." This poem is still preserved to this day. It was a heroic end, following in the footsteps of his father, Masashige, in the midst of the civil war between the Northern and Southern Courts. <References> Uemura Seiji, "Kusunoki Masashige"

(Masaaki Komori)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：貞和4/正平3.1.5(1348.2.4)
生年：生年不詳
南北朝期の武将。楠木正成の長子。左衛門尉,帯刀と称する。『太平記』の伝えるところによれば,父正成が建武3/延元1(1336)年湊川(神戸市)の戦で敗死したとき,正行は11歳であったという。このことを信ずれば嘉暦1(1326)年の出生となるが確証はない。その父正成は湊川での足利尊氏・直義軍との合戦の前に,正行を摂津国桜井(大阪府島本町)で本拠地・河内国(大阪府)に帰し,再起を期待したという。これが巷間にいう「桜井の別れ」である。正行は正成の没後,その遺領を継承し河内国の国司並びに守護として活動,畿内における南朝軍の中枢となった。貞和3/正平2(1347)年南朝の中心的な人物の北畠親房の主戦論が主流となると,正行も東国,鎮西の南朝軍と共に兵を起こした。正行は,紀伊,河内,摂津と転戦,これに対して幕府は,細川顕氏を河内に派遣して,鎮圧に当たらせたが,正行軍の大勝となった。その後,幕府は,山名時氏の軍を援軍として送ったが,正行方はこれを摂津住吉,天王寺で迎え撃ち,激戦の末しりぞけた。こうした事態に危機感をつのらせた幕府は,ついに高師直・師泰兄弟を河内に向かわせた。貞和4/正平3年正月,河内国(大阪)の四条畷でこれを迎え撃ったが,激戦となり,ついに正行は弟の正時と刺し違えて自害した。この四条畷の戦を前にした正行は,吉野で後醍醐天皇の廟を拝したのち,出陣に当たり,如意輪寺の本堂の扉板に,やじりで「返らじとかねておもへば梓弓なき数に入名をぞとどめる」と辞世の歌を記しており,今にその遺品が伝来している。南北朝の内乱のなかで父正成の跡を追うような壮絶な最期であった。<参考文献>植村清二『楠木正成』

(小森正明)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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