On the 25th day of the fifth month of 1336, Masashige led only 77 horsemen alongside his brother Masasue against Ashikaga Takauji's army of roughly 50,000 that had landed at Minatogawa — obeying Emperor Go-Daigo's orders despite knowing the outcome was hopeless. Mortally wounded in the fighting, the two brothers pledged to each other "seven lives for the nation" (shichishō hōkoku) and died together. Masashige was 43. In the Edo period, Mito lord Tokugawa Mitsukuni erected a stone monument inscribed "Alas, the Grave of the Loyal Retainer Kusunoki" at this site, and in 1872 Minatogawa Shrine was founded here by imperial decree of Emperor Meiji. Celebrated as Dai Nankō — the supreme embodiment of loyalty — Masashige is still beloved by the people of Kobe today as "Nanko-san."