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The Strategist Who Outwitted an Army with a Handful of Men — Kusunoki Masashige at Chihaya

In 1333, Kusunoki Masashige held tiny Chihaya Castle against the vast Kamakura army using straw dummies, falling rocks, and boiling water. His guerrilla genius tied down the shogunate's forces and hastened its collapse.

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In 1333, Kusunoki Masashige defended tiny Chihaya Castle in the Kongo mountains against a vast Kamakura army using ingenious guerrilla tactics: straw dummies in armor, falling rocks and logs, boiling water, and double walls that collapsed under climbers. By tying down the shogunate’s forces, he exposed its weakness and helped trigger its collapse later that year.

Battle of Chihaya Castle — Kusunoki Masashige's ingenious siege defense that tied down the vast Kamakura army with few men

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Statue of Kusunoki Masashige at the Imperial Palace — equestrian statue of the great strategist and loyal general called 'Dai-Nanko'

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Minatogawa Shrine, Kobe — enshrining Kusunoki Masashige as its principal deity, built at the place of his death

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Kusunoki Masashige