Kusunoki no Masashige (1294-1336), was a scion of a powerful family which supported the emperor against the fortunes of the Hojo bakufu. At the age of eleven he had been studying letters and martial arts at the monastery of Hinosan in Yamato when he was suddenly attacked by a member of an enemy family. Fully-grown and martially skilled, he overpowered the man who later became a loyal servant. The figure depicted here is probably a result of artistic license as the figure is that of a mendicant, possibly alluding to the monastery where the famous scene took place.