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Uesugi Kenshin was born in February 1530 at Kasugayama in Echigo Province, the 4th son of Nagao
Tamekage, a powerful warlord who was first an enemy and then a nominal vassal of the Yamaouchi-Uesugi. A leader of some note,
Tamekage had in his youth defeated Uesugi Sadanori in 1509 at the Battle of Ichiburi. He had then been besieged at Nishihama
(Etchû Province) by Uesugi Funayoshi and emerged victorious, killing Funayoshi in the process. In later years, Tamekage found
himself confronted both with rebellious kokujin within Echigo and the growing power of the Ikko-ikki in the Hokuriku. In 1530-31
a power struggle took place within the so-called Peasants province of Kaga that saw the nominal Shugo family, the Togashi,
expelled once and for all and the Honganji assume the dominant political position. From this point on the Ikko became more
aggressive in their relations with neighboring daimyo, and those who opposed the Honganji were liable to suffer internal difficulties
in the form of riots or even armed attacks. This was nowhere more the case then in Echigo, prompting Nagao Tamekage in 1536
to raise an army and march westward, possibly in the hopes of reaching Kaga. A fierce battle took place at Sendanno in Etchu
that left Tamekage dead and his army defeated.1 It was one of the Kaga Ikkos greatest triumphs and disastrous to the stability
of Echigo. Leadership of the Nagao fell to Tamekages eldest son, Harukage, whose cause was forwarded by a number of important
Nagao retainers. A power struggle ensued, in the course of which another of Tamekages sons, Kageyasu, was killed. The youngest
son was spirited away to the Rizen-ji, where he studied from the age of 7 to 14.
When the boy reached 14, he was approached
by Usami Sadamitsu2 and others, who urged him to make a claim for leadership of the Nagao family. Evidently, Harukage was
an unpopular figure who had failed to garner the loyalty of the provinces various and powerful kokujin families. Internal
strife soon threatened to tear the province apart.
Kagetora, we are told, at first hesitated to war on his brother,
but in the end was convinced to fight for the good of Echigo. Kagetora and Usami went on to win a series of engagements against
Harukages supporters that led to Kagetoras victory in 1547. Harukages fate is not certain, though he likely committed suicide.3
Now
the head of the Nagao family, Kagetora turned to the difficult business of cementing his control over Echigo, a time-consuming
process given that Echigo was noted for the fiercely-independent nature of its people. In fact, his efforts were only beginning
to bear fruit when word came of Takeda (Shingen) Harunobus advances in northern Shinano. Two defeated Shinano warlords, Ogasawara
Nagatoki (1519-1583) and Murakami Yoshikiyo (1510-1573), came to Echigo around 1553 and asked for assistance against the encroaching
Takeda clan, which in the space of ten years had absorbed much of Shinano. Kagetora was probably alarmed by the bellicose
Takedas proximity to the borders of Echigo, and agreed to assist the two refugees.4
He got his first chance in 1553.
In June Takeda marched up and onto the Kawanakajima, a stretch of flat land that was so-named as it was lapped on three sides
by the waters of the Sai and Chikuma rivers. Kagetora responded by leading an army down from Echigo and the two warlords fought
a brief skirmish, though as each man already had a reputation for cunning, caution won out. Takeda pulled back but returned
in November.5 This time, a sharper engagement was fought that left a number of Takedas generals dead.6 Kenshin and Shingen
would face one another at Kawanakajima in five official confrontations (1553, 1555, 1557, 1561, and 1564), while putting in
an appearance on at least five other years (according to one theory).
Some time prior to these first tentative struggles,
in 1551, Kagetora had received Uesugi Norimasa, who was technically his overlord but had fallen on hard times. Defeated by
the Hojo and driven to take up refuge in Echigo, Norimasa was in a difficult position, one that not even the reasonably honorable
Kagetora could resist taking advantage of. Kagetora agreed to shelter Norimasa, but on the condition that the latter adopt
him. Norimasa had little choice but to comply, and so Kagetora became Uesugi Kagetora, thus arranging for a prestigious name
that would both increase his legitimacy as ruler of Echigo and clear the way for the title he most desired - Kanto Kanrei,
or Deputy-Shogun for the Kanto. In 1559 he made a trip to Kyoto to pay tribute to the shôgun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru, an act that
greatly enhanced his reputation. While in Kyoto, he also visted the Imperial Palace and Mt. Hiei, as well as a number of other
famous religious and historical sites. He returned to Echigo in November. In recognition of his loyalty, the shogun gave Kagetora
the right to use the character Teru in his name. Uesugi Terutora was thereby born, although he shortly took Buddhist vows
and the name Kenshin. A devout religious man, Kenshin would never marry nor produce off-spring - such a surprising thing for
a warlord to do that a bizarre rumor circulated that he was in fact a she! Either way, Buddhist vows did not prevent Kenshin
from acquiring a taste for drink, which he consumed in copious amounts during his lifetime and may well have contributed to
his early demise.
For some time Kenshin had involved himself in the goings-on in neighboring Etchû Province, where
the Jinbo and Shiina clans had been feuding since around 1550. Kenshin had at first acted as a mediator between the two but
in 1560 he entered the fight on the side of the Shiina and took Toyama Castle from the Jinbo in April 1560. Later, Kenshin
would turn on the Shiina when it seemed as if they were becoming too friendly with the Takeda; the Shiina's Matsukura castle
was taken in 1575 and Kenshin at that point became the effective ruler of Etchû Province. The Jinbo and Shiina were both reduced
to vassal houses.
The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kenshin
and Shingen duel at 4th Kawanakajima In the fall of 1561, Kenshin finally received the title of Kanto-Kanrei, and almost immediately
launched a spirited attack into the Hojos lands. Dodging Hojo forts, Kenshin managed to reach Odawara Castle in Sagami, which
he besieged for two months before retreating for want of supplies. Hardly discouraged, he had barely returned to Echigo before
marching into northern Shinano. Takedas northernmost fort was Kaizu, presently garrisoned by Kosaka Masanobu and a token force
of cavalry. With 13,00 men under his command, Kenshin might easily have captured the place; instead, he sat down to wait,
letting Kosaka get off a smoke signal. When word reached Shingen of Kenshins intrusion, he mustered an army and force-marched
north, perhaps sensing that Kenshin intended to make this an all-out fight. He arrived to find the Uesugi army camped on the
top of Saijoyama, a height somewhat west of Kaizu. Shingen camped at the Amenomiya Ford for a period of about a week before
making his way to Kaizu. Kenshin had made no movement as yet and continued to remain inactive, apparently determined to let
Shingen make the first move. The Takeda decided after another week of idleness that a battle would have to be forced, as it
was unlikely that Kenshin would leave Kaizu alone if Shingen withdrew without bloodying him.
It was decided that the
Takeda army, now numbering some 20,000 men, would be split into two parts. 8,000 men would go to the Hachiman Plain under
cover of darkness while the other 12,000 (under Kosaka and Baba Nobufusa) would attack Saijoyama. Whether or not Kosaka and
Baba succeded, Kenshin was likely to withdraw north - and right into the trap Shingen would have set for him. Accordingly,
the two forces departed at night - although not in the secrecy the plan required. Kenshin had learned of the scheme somehow,
and resolved to turn Shingens planning against him. Kenshin marched his own army off Saijo and crossed the Chikuma as quietly
as humanly possible.7
Once on the other side of the river, he dispatched 1,000 men under Naoe Kanetsugu north with
the supply train while leaving 2,000 more under Amakasu Kagemochi at the Amenomiya Ford to stall the Takedas attack force
once they discovered Saijo was empty. The other 10,000 Kenshin put into formation and waited for the dawn.
At first
light, Kenshins army smashed into the Takeda ranks, which quickly buckled under the force of the attack. Kenshins vanguard
was headed by Kakizaki Kageie, whose cavalry struck the center of Shingens formation and killed Takeda Nobushige, Shingens
brother. According to the Koyo Gunkan Kenshin employed a Rolling wheel formation, which allowed him to withdraw weary or damaged
units from the fight without reducing the pressure on the enemy. Very soon Shingen had suffered the wounding of his son Yoshinobu,
and the suicide of his veteran commander Yamamoto Kansuke. At this point, Kenshin led a charge himself that carried the Uesugi
banners into the heart of the Takeda formation. According to legend, Shingen and Kenshin himself traded blows, with the former
fending off the latters sword cuts with his iron war fan before a retainer drove Kenshin back.
By now Baba and Kosaka
had discovered that Saijo was empty and rushed down to Amenomiya. After defeating Amakasu in a fiercely contested crossing,
the Takeda force moved on to fall on the Uesugi army from behind. Though Kenshin had come very close to decisively defeating
Shingen, he had missed his chance and was forced to retreat. Baba and Kosakas horsemen made cruel work of any stragglers they
came across, and it is thought that quite a few Uesugi men drowned in the Saigawa in the retreat. The Koyo Gunkan states that
3,117 of Kenshins men had been killed, and the Takeda may have suffered comparably.8
Kenshin and Shingen would face
each other again, at Kawanakajima (1564) and in a number of stand-offs in Kozuke as the latter moved to scarf up castles there
in the early 1560s. Yet the enemy who most absorbed Kenshins attention for the rest of his life was the Hôjô clan. Kenshin
evidently took his Kanto-Kanrei title seriously, and resolved to restore the Kanto to the Uesugi. In almost every year of
the 1560s (starting almost immediatly after the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima), he raided the Hôjôs lands and fought for various
castles in Kôzuke, Musashi, and Shimosa - although without lasting effect. At the same time, the Uesugi came into conflict
with the Ashina of Mutsu.
It should be mentioned here that as much as Kenshin may have liked to fight, he also worked
hard to increase the economic strength of Echigo. He pursued a number of initiatives designed to stimulate trade, including
making the most of Echigos lucrative hemp trade, building Kasugayama Castle (which acted as his headquarters and a prosperous
castle town) and in 1564 revitalizing the seaport of Kashiwazaki. Like many daimyo, Kenshin offered merchants special privileges,
including tax reductions, to ectice them to do business in his domain.
Uesugi Kenshin's Battle Standard - 'BI'
The First Character of 'Bishamonten', the God of Wealth By 1576 Kenshin had finally begun to look westward. In 1565 Ashikaga
Yoshiaki had asked him to come to Kyoto and drive out Shogun Yoshiterus murderers, a request Kenshin had been in no position
to fulfill in those days. Now, with both Takeda Shingen and Hôjô Ujiyasu dead, Kenshin could consider an expansion in the
direction of the capital. At this time, the capital and all the land around it was controlled by Oda Nobunaga, the rising
super-daimyô who had been the one to install Ashikaga Yoshiaki into the shogunate in 1568. Afterwards, Nobunaga had courted
Kenshins favor with a series of gifts and letters that resulted in a pact against Takeda Shingen. Among the gifts Nobunaga
sent to Kenshin were a pair of screens depicting life in Kyoto, known as the Rakuchû rakugai zu, which would later assist
historians in gathering a sense of life in the capital at the time. Once Shingen was dead, Kenshins interest in any further
cooperation with the Oda waned. Perhaps goaded on by the news that Nobunaga was constructing a great castle in Ômi (to be
known as Azuchi), Kenshin finished his subjegation of Etchû in the spring of 1576 by killing Shiina Yasutane. Earlier, more
tentative moves westward on Kenshins part had been frustrated by the activities of the Ikko-ikki; by 1576 the attentions of
the Ikko were squarely centered on Nobunaga and a peace of sorts was struck up with the Uesugi.9
In 1577 one of the
lords of Noto, Hatakeyama Yoshinori, was overthrown and killed by one of his retainers, Ch Shigetsura, apparently after the
latter had come into some sort of agreement with Oda Nobunaga. Feuding broke out among the former members of the Hatakeyama
and Kenshin was quick to take advantage of the situation. He invaded Noto, captured the home of the new head of the Hatakeyama
(Yoshitaka), Nanao, and besieged Ch in Anamizu Castle. Shigetsura was killed, and after securing the loyalty of the other
Noto warriors, Kenshin moved into Kaga. Nobunaga responded to this activity by leading reinforcements up to Echizen, where
he joined forces with his generals Shibata Katsuie and Maeda Toshiie. All told, Nobunaga may have had as many as 50,000 men
on hand to oppose Kenshin, whose own army counted about 30,000 warriors.10 Kenshin and Nobunaga met at the Tedorigawa in Kaga,
with the lord of Echigo demonstrating just how much he had learned from all those fights with Shingen. Kenshin based his army
at Matsuo Castle, across from which Nobunaga massed his forces. Suspecting that Nobunaga was itching for a fight and probably
meant to attack at dawn, Kenshin dispatched a small force to move further up the river (while making a show if it). Nobunaga
took note of the movements and believed that Kenshin was splitting his forces-a perfect opportunity for an attack; in the
moonlight Nobunaga threw his forces across the river and against Matsuo. Kenshins forward units absorbed the charge, and in
the end Nobunagas army was defeated. Nobunaga pulled his army back and took the bulk of it back to Ômi, while Kenshin, after
building a few forts in Kaga, returned to Echigo.
During the winter of 1577-78, Kenshin declared his intentions to
continue fighting Nobunaga again and organized for an impressive army to assemble in the spring. Even as he readied for a
great campaign, however, he was in poor health, reportedly barely able to eat solid food and walking with a pronounced limp.
On 9 April he had a seizure of some sort while using his lavatory and died four days later, at the age of 48.
The timeliness
of Kenshins death for the Oda gave rise to rumors of assassination. One popular albeit unlikely story has Kenshin being stabbed
from below by an assassin who had hid himself in Kenshins lavatory some days before. In fact, many Japanese scholars believe
that Kenshin died of illness - perhaps stomach cancer, combined with a lifetime of heavy drinking.11
Regardless of
the manner of Kenshins death, the event spelled disaster for the Uesugi house. Some years prior to his death, Kenshin had
adopted two sons, Kagetora (1552-1579, a son of Hôjô Ujiyasu) and Kagekatsu (1555-1623, the son of Nagao Masakage, Kenshins
elder brother). Perhaps naively, Kenshin had hoped that upon his death, the two would divide up the Uesugi holdings and rule
in cooperation. Needless to say, this ended up being hardly the case. Kagekatsu, while not an exceptionally skilled general,
was extremely ambitious and a gifted political schemer. He ultimately succeded in forcing Kagetora to commit suicide in 1579,
but not before the struggle had cost the Uesugi precious time and manpower, allowing Oda Nobunaga to take Kaga and march as
far as Etchus borders.
Uesugi Kenshin was one of the most reknowned warlords of the 16th Century, a colorful figure
who combined a love of campaigning with a thirst for learning and a genuine sense of honor. Both Shingen and Hojo Ujiyasu
are said to have spoken highly of their rival in Echigo, and Nobunaga is reputed to have jumped to his feet in delight at
the news of his death, declaring that the event assured Oda domination of Japan. Like Shingen, Kenshin died after his first
great victory against the forces of change as represented by Oda Nobunaga (and in Takedas case, Tokugawa Ieyasu) and, like
his old enemy in Kai, Kenshin earned the love of his people, a love that can be found even today in those lands the Uesugi
administered.
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