Day 6 - Kobe

Today was another full day. We were able to get up a little bit later than usual. My breakfast was the same Japanese / Western style but I added a cheese omelet for a little change ;)

The three of us met up with some experts in a cafe in Osaka. It was only a 2 hour meeting but we learned so much from them that we wanted the meeting to continue. This organization has research and reports I really wanted to get my hands on. I knew that there would be some data that would validate the research we were doing for the past couple of days, but at the same time I was so excited to realize that we were walking into new territory with the learnings we soaked in from our own observations.

It started to rain so we ducked into a neighbouring Japanese restaurant for lunch bento-box style :) We had the white fish which was absolutely delicious and a deal for 900 Yen!

We visited a bookstore to buy some magazines as part of our research and then rode a taxi to our next destination.

We visited a home that was incredibly old -- exactly 300 years old -- which belonged to an incredibly famous samurai in Japanese history -- Kusunoki Masashige!

Kusunoki Masashige (楠木 正成, b. 1294-1336) was a 14th century samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in his attempt to wrest rulership of Japan away from the Kamakura shogunate.

A brilliant tactician and strategist, Kusunoki's cunning defense of two key loyalist fortresses at Akasaka and Chihaya helped allow Go-Daigo to briefly return to power. However, one of the loyalist generals, Ashikaga Takauji, betrayed Go-Daigo and led an army against Kusunoki and the remaining loyalists. Kusunoki suggested to the Emperor that they take refuge on sacred Mount Hiei and allow Takauji to take Kyoto, only to swoop down from the mountain, and with the help of the monks of Mount Hiei, trap Takauji in the city and destroy him. Go-Daigo was unwilling to leave the capital however, and insisted that Kusunoki meet Takauji's superior forces in the field in a pitched battle. Kusunoki, in what would later be viewed as the ultimate act of samurai loyalty, obediently accepted his Emperor's foolish command, left his death poem with his young son and knowingly marched his army into almost certain death. The battle, which took place at Minatogawa in modern-day Chūō-ku, Kobe, was a tactical disaster. Kusunoki, his army completely surrounded, committed suicide along with 600 of his surviving troops. According to legend, his last words were Shichisei Hōkoku! (七生報國; "Would that I had seven lives to give for my country!")

After the full-scale introduction of Neo-Confucianism as a state philosophy by the Tokugawa Shogunate, Kusunoki Masashige, once-called a traitor by the Northern Court, was resurrected with Emperor Go-Daigo as a precursor of Sinocentric absolutists, based upon the Neo-Confucian theories. During the Edo period, scholars and samurai who were influenced by the Neo-Confucian theories created the legend of Kusunoki, and enshrined him as a patriotic hero, called Nankō(楠公) or Dai-Nankō(大楠公), who epitomized loyalty, courage, and devotion to the Emperor. Kusunoki later became a patron saint of sorts to the World War II kamikazes, who saw themselves as his spiritual heirs in sacrificing their lives for the Emperor.

~ from Wikipedia

A statue of him stands outside the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

The man of the household is a direct descendant of Kusunoki -- being the ___ generation living in the 300 year old home. The building was incredibly old but absolutely beautiful as it has been taken care of incredibly well. We felt like we had walked into a museum. Really only pictures can show you how beautiful it is and even then you'd have to visit it to really understand.

Now of course, since Kusunoki lost the battle with Takauji, his family changed their last name which explains why the man of the household's last name is no longer Kusunoki but now ___________. The home still stands with a beautiful Japanese garden which has a tree in it with the same name "Kusunoki".

Sitting in such a beautiful and historical home sent chills down my spine. It was an incredibly eerie feeling as I literally touched such an important part of Samurai history...

We went to Sannomiya and walked Flower Road and Moto-machi for 30 minutes of window shopping, then met with the client "big boss" for kaiten sushi dinner! :)

With full tummies and our hearts full of inspiration, we walked the 15 minutes back to our hotel.

Tomorrow is an early day for us. We'll be speaking to a panel of experts for the morning and then visit another center for more data collecting in the afternoon. Then its a major brain dump onto our computers, battery charging, file downloading, etc in the late afternoon. Hopefully we'll get an opportunity to do some souvenir shopping (or maybe another trip to Arima!) ;)