This battle occurred in 1348 at Shijo-Nawate in Kawachi province between the army of the Southern Court commanded by Kusunoku Masatsura, and the Northern Court troops of Ashikaga Takauji. Vastly outnumbered, the Kusunoki clan were spectacularly defeated. Here, the Kusunoki warriors (from right - Wada Shinbochi Kenshu, Wada Shinbei Masatomo and Kusunoki Masatsura) press forward despite a dense hail of arrows; badly injured and bleeding, their blue faces indicate their imminent death. See T. Clark,
Kuniyoshi: From The Arthur R. Miller Collection, (Royal Academy of Arts, 2009), cat. 32, p. 92-3
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