 Like many of Taseko’s verses, this poem expresses her reverence for soldiers who served the imperial court, even to the point of death. She evokes the memory of such figures like the samurai general Kusunoki Masashige (1294–1336) who in loyal support of Emperor Go-Daigo led his outnumbered army against the forces of Ashikaga Takauji at the Battle of Minatogawa in 1336. There Masashige faced defeat and committed ritual suicide. Taseko joined a growing number of imperial loyalists in the late-Tokugawa years including fellow Hirata disciples. In other verses, she lamented the sale of silk to foreign countries, complaining that she would rather reject quick profits from foreign trade than sell silk to “barbarians”.