楠木正成
One of the greatest samurai was Kusunoki Masashige. He lived during the Kamakura period and represents the ideal of samurai loyalty. Kusunoki fought against the Kamakura shogunate in the Genkō War (1331–1333) to restore power to Emperor Go-Daigo. Kusunoki was also a brilliant tactician and strategist. The defense of two key Loyalist fortresses at Akasaka, the Siege of Akasaka, and Chihaya, the Siege of Chihaya, helped enable Emperor Go-Daigo to briefly regain power. In 1333, Go-Daigo rewarded Kusunoki with governorship of Settsu Province and Kawachi Province. The Meiji government posthumously gave Kusunoki the highest decoration of Senior First Rank in 1880. 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."