Googled a little: The statue is by a team led by Takamura Koun (1852-1934) and was finished in 1893 although the inscription says 1897 (wikipedia.jp).
Bernhard
05-May-2011 09:14
Beautiful shot!
The statue shows Kusunoki Masashige, a medieval warrior who became famous for leading a battle he knew he would loose, in order to fullfill his duty for the imperial house. His example was invoked in WW2 among the kamikaze fighters. The statue by Takamura Kotaro is from 1897.