Kusunoki fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in the Genkō War to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate and restore power in Japan to the Imperial Court.

Kusunoki attacked Takauji in Settsu at the command of the Emperor, an act of obedience sure to result in defeat, and died at the Battle of Minatogawa in 1336.

Kusunoki is believed to have been born in 1294 in Kawachi Province as a "well-to-do member of the rural gentry" and claimed descent from Tachibana Moroe, "a great nobleman" of the eighth century.

Kusunoki was a "scholar and a devout Buddhist" with much of his early education taking place at Kanshin-ji Temple in Kawachinagano, in present-day southern Osaka Prefecture.

[3]: 181–182 Go-Daigo was unwilling to leave the capital however, and insisted that Kusunoki meet Takauji's superior forces in the field in a pitched battle.

Kusunoki, in what would later be viewed as the ultimate act of samurai loyalty, obediently accepted his Emperor's foolish command and knowingly marched his army into almost certain death.

These castles were designed not only to protect the trail from bandits but also as an important source of income and intelligence as travelers were obliged to pay a toll and the garrison would listen out for rumours and news from around Japan.

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.

[2]: 103 Kusunoki "stands in the history of his country as the ideal figure of a warrior, compact of civil and military virtues in a high degree.

[citation needed] Kusunoki later became a patron saint of sorts to World War II kamikaze, who saw themselves as his spiritual heirs in sacrificing their lives for the Emperor.