Uesugi Kagekatsu

In thisJapanese name,thesurnameisUesugi.

Uesugi Kagekatsu(Thượng sam cảnh thắng,8 January 1556 – 19 April 1623)was a Japanesesamuraidaimyōduring theSengokuandEdo periods.He was the adopted son ofUesugi KenshinandUesugi Kagetora’s brother in law.

Uesugi Kagekatsu Thượng sam cảnh thắng
Head ofUesugi clan
In office 1580–1623
Preceded by	Uesugi Kenshin
Succeeded by	Uesugi Sadakatsu
Lord of Yonezawa
In office 1601–1623
Succeeded by	Uesugi Sadakatsu
Lord of Aizu
In office 1598–1601
Preceded by	Gamō Hideyuki
Succeeded by	Gamō Hideyuki
Personal details
Born	Unomatsu January 8, 1556 Echigo Province,Japan
Died	April 19, 1623(1623-04-19)(aged 67) Yonezawa,Japan
Spouse	Kikuhime
Children	Uesugi Sadakatsu
Parents	Nagao Masakage(father) Aya-Gozen(mother)
Relatives	Uesugi Kenshin(adoptive father) Uesugi Kagetora(brother-in-law)
Military service
Allegiance	Uesugi clan Toyotomi clan Western Army Tokugawa shogunate
Unit	Uesugi clan
Battles/wars	Battle of Tedorigawa Siege of Otate Battle of Tenjinyama Siege of Uozu Siege of Hachiōji Siege of Hachigata Siege of Odawara Sekigahara campaign Siege of Osaka

Early life and rise

Letter from Uesugi Kenshin to Uesugi Kagekatsu.

Kagekatsu was the son ofNagao Masakage,the head of the UedaNagaoclan and husband ofUesugi Kenshin's elder sister,Aya-Gozen.After his father died, he was adopted by Kenshin. His childhood name was Unomatsu.

In 1577, he participated inBattle of Tedorigawa. Upon Kenshin's death in 1578, Kagekatsu battled Kenshin's other adopted sonUesugi Kagetorafor the inheritance, defeating Kagetora in the 1578Siege of Otate.

In 1579, he forced Kagetora to commit suicide, and became head of theUesugi clan.Kagekatsu marriedTakeda Katsuyori's sister (Takeda Shingen's daughter) after the Siege of Otate.

Conflict with Oda

By 1579, Kagekatsu had gained the upper hand and forced Kagetora to commit suicide. This bloody division allowed Oda Nobunaga's generals (headed by Shibata Katsuie) to conquer the Uesugi's lands in Kaga, Noto, and Etchu.

In 1582, Kagekatsu led an army into Etchu and was defeated by Oda forces at theBattle of Tenjinyama.He hastily returned to Echigo when he learned that Oda generalMori Nagayoshihad raided Echigo in his absence.

When Oda forces underShibata KatsuieandSassa Narimasalaid siege to Uozu castlein Etchu, in the course of which a number of important Uesugi retainers were killed, Kagekatsu's fortunes appeared bleak. Kagekatsu sent a letter toSatake Yoshishige,his allies. It was like a suicide note.

Please don't worry about us.

I was born in a good era. We will fight against over 60 provinces of Japan with only this Echigo province.

If we survive, I'll become an unmatched hero. Even if we are destroyed, my name will go down in history.

Uozu castle fell on June 3, 1582, and Oda Nobunaga would die eighteen days later, in Kyoto. The Uesugi were given a reprieve with the death of Nobunaga shortly afterwards.

Service under Hideyoshi

Uesugi Kagekatsu

Kagekatsu made friendly overtures toToyotomi Hideyoshi,and attackedShibata Katsuie's northern outposts during the Shizugatake Campaign (1583) and went on to support Hideyoshi during the Komaki Campaign (1584), in which he played a limited role by launching a foray into Shinano.

As a general under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Kagekatsu took part in theOdawara campaign1590 underMaeda Toshiie,and rise to prominence to become a member of theCouncil of Five Elders.Originally holding a 550,000kokufief inEchigo Province,Kagekatsu received the fief ofAizu,worth a huge 1.2 millionkokuwhen Hideyoshi redistributed holdings in 1598. After Hideyoshi's death, that year, Kagekatsu then allied himself withIshida Mitsunari,againstTokugawa Ieyasu,as the result of some political dispute.

Sekigahara Campaign

TheSekigahara Campaign1600 can be said to have begun, at least in part, with Kagekatsu, who was the firstdaimyōto openly defy theTokugawa clan.He built a new castle inAizu,attracting the attention of Ieyasu, who demanded that he explain his conduct at the capital. Kagekatsu refused, and Tokugawa began plans to lead a 50,000 man army north against him. Ishida and Uesugi hoped to occupy Tokugawa Ieyasu with this fighting in the north, distracting him from Ishida Mitsunari's attacks in the west. Anticipating this, Ieyasu remained to engage Mitsunari; his generalsMogami YoshiakiandDate Masamunewould fight Kagekatsu inTōhoku(northern region Honshū, Japan's main island). Kagekatsu had intended to move his force south, attacking the Tokugawa from the north-east while Ishida attacked from the west, but he was defeated very early in the campaign, at his castle in theSiege of Shiroishiand later in the end of campaign atSiege of Hasedo.

Service under Tokugawa

He declaring his allegiance to Tokugawa following his defeat in the Sekigahara campaign, Kagekatsu became atozama(outsider)daimyō;he was given theYonezawa han,worth 300,000koku,in the Tōhoku region. Kagekatsu fought for the Tokugawa shogunate against theToyotomi clanin theOsaka Campaign1614–1615.

Death

On March 20, 1623, Kagekatsu died inYonezawa.He was 67–69 years old. He was succeeded byUesugi Sadakatsu,his illegitimate son.

Kagekatsu's remains were laid at Shojoshin-in Temple atMount Kōya,Koya city,while his ashes and court dress and kabuto were kept at the mausoleum of the Uesugi family located inYonezawa,Yamagata Prefecture.

Yamatorige sword

Yamatorige(Sơn lông chim,"feather of acopper pheasant"),equally known asSanchōmōby itsSino-Japanese reading,is atachi(Japanese greatsword) forged during the middleKamakura period(13th century). The set of the blade and itskoshirae(mountings) is aNational Treasure of Japan.It was wielded byUesugi Kagekatsu,and had been inherited by his clan.

See also

• Yamatorige- sword wielded by Kagekatsu
• Uesugi clan
• Uesugi Kenshin
• Naoe Kanetsugu

References

The emblem (mon) of the Uesugi clan

Further reading

• Frederic, Louis (2002).Japan Encyclopedia.Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
• Sansom, George (1961).A History of Japan: 1334–1615.Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
• Turnbull, Stephen (1998).The Samurai Sourcebook.London: Cassell & Co.