Uesugi clan

A samurai family from the Kamakura to Edo period. The Fujiwara clan of the Kanjuji line. The clan has called itself the Uesugi clan since Shigefusa, a 13th generation descendant of Takafuji Kanjuji, was given Uesugi Manor in Ikaruga County, Tanba Province (Ayabe City, Kyoto Prefecture). Shigefusa settled in Kamakura in 1252 (4th year of Kencho) when Prince Munetaka came down to Kamakura as the 6th Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate. He later married into the Ashikaga clan, a famous clan in the Kanto region, and gradually developed. Shigefusa's son Yorishige's eldest son Shigeaki founded the Ogigayatsu family, and through the generations of Yorishige's third son Norifusa's son who succeeded him as family head, his adopted son Shigeyoshi founded the Takuma family, his second son Norifuji founded the Inukake family, and the eldest son Noriaki took the name Yamanouchi, making a total of four families. Yorishige's daughter Kiyoko married Ashikaga Sadauji and gave birth to Takauji and Tadayoshi, so the Ashikaga clan favored them, and Shigeaki's son Tomosada (Ogigayatsu) became the guardian of Tango and Takauji's steward, and Noriaki was appointed guardian of Izu, Kozuke, and Echigo, and became the steward when Ashikaga Motouji established the Kamakura Shogunate. After that, the Uesugi clans alternated in serving as Kanto stewards (later Kanrei).

The line of Norihide, the son of Noriaki, became the guardian of Echigo Province and was called the Echigo Uesugi, but by the time of Sadazane, the line had died out without an heir. The Takuma clan quickly declined, and Inukake, during the reign of Ujinobu (Zenshu), became hostile towards the Kanto kubo Ashikaga Mochiuji and Yamauchi Norimoto, and was destroyed in 1417 (Oei 24). The Yamauchi and Ogigayatsu Uesugi clans, who later held real power in the Kanto region, had been fighting each other since the end of the Bunmei era (late 15th century), and when the Hojo clan rose to power during the Eisho era (1504-21), they cooperated to oppose them, but in 1546 (Tenbun 15), Yamauchi Norimasa and Ogigayatsu Tomosada (Tomosada's son) fought against Hojo Ujiyasu at Kawagoe Castle in Musashi, and Tomosada was defeated and killed, leading to the demise of the Ogigayatsu clan. Norimasa was also unable to resist the Hojo clan and fled to Echigo, where in 1561 (Eiroku 4) he handed over the Kanto Kanrei position and the Uesugi family name to Nagao Kagetora (Kenshin), the deputy governor of Echigo. Kenshin, who succeeded the Uesugi clan, built a territory stretching from Hokuriku to Kanto, and his nephew Kagekatsu, who succeeded him, followed Toyotomi Hideyoshi and became one of the Five Elders. In 1598 (Keicho 3), he was given 1.2 million koku in Aizu and moved from Kasugayama to Wakamatsu. In 1600, he resisted Tokugawa Ieyasu and started the Battle of Sekigahara, but was defeated. The following year, he was moved to Yonezawa in Dewa with 300,000 koku. In 1664 (Kanbun 4), Tsunakatsu was allowed to be adopted at the end of his life, and when Tsunanori (the eldest son of Kira Yoshinaka) took over, his fief was reduced to 150,000 koku, and this continued until the end of the Edo period. In the Meiji period, he was granted the title of count.

[Seiji Kobayashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鎌倉～江戸時代の武家。勧修寺流(かじゅうじりゅう)藤原氏。勧修寺高藤(たかふじ)13代の庶流重房(しげふさ)が丹波国(たんばのくに)何鹿(いかるが)郡上杉荘(うえすぎのしょう)（京都府綾部(あやべ)市）を与えられて以来、上杉氏を称する。重房は1252年（建長4）宗尊(むねたか)親王が鎌倉幕府6代将軍として下向するのに従い鎌倉に定住、その後関東の名族足利(あしかが)氏と婚姻を結び、しだいに発展していった。重房の子頼重(よりしげ)の長男重顕(しげあき)は扇谷(おうぎがやつ)家を開き、頼重の三男で家督を継いだ憲房(のりふさ)の子の代に至り、養子重能(しげよし)が詫間(たくま)家、次男憲藤(のりふじ)が犬懸(いぬかけ)家を開き、長男憲顕(のりあき)は山内(やまのうち)を称して4家となった。頼重の娘清子(きよこ)が足利貞氏(さだうじ)に嫁して尊氏(たかうじ)、直義(ただよし)を生んだことから足利氏に重用され、重顕の子朝定(ともさだ)（扇谷）は丹後(たんご)守護、尊氏の執事となり、憲顕(のりあき)は伊豆、上野(こうずけ)、越後(えちご)3国の守護に任じ、足利基氏(もとうじ)が鎌倉府を開くに及びその執事となった。以後、上杉諸家は交互に関東執事（のち管領(かんれい)）を務めた。

　憲顕の子憲栄(のりひで)の流は越後国守護となり越後上杉と称したが、定実(さだざね)に至り嗣子(しし)のないままに断絶した。詫間は早く衰え、犬懸も氏憲（禅秀(ぜんしゅう)）の代に関東公方(くぼう)足利持氏(もちうじ)、山内憲基(のりもと)に敵対し、1417年（応永24）滅亡した。のち関東の実権を握った山内、扇谷両上杉は、文明(ぶんめい)末年（15世紀末）ころから相互に抗争を続け、永正(えいしょう)年間（1504～21）北条氏が興るに及んで協力してこれに対抗したが、1546年（天文15）山内憲政(のりまさ)、扇谷朝定(ともさだ)（朝興(ともおき)の子）が北条氏康(うじやす)と武蔵(むさし)河越(かわごえ)城に戦い、朝定の敗死によって扇谷家は滅亡した。憲政もまた北条氏に抗しえず越後に走り、1561年（永禄4）関東管領職と上杉姓を越後守護代長尾景虎(ながおかげとら)（謙信(けんしん)）に譲った。上杉氏を継いだ謙信は北陸から関東に及ぶ領土を築き、その跡を受けた甥(おい)景勝(かげかつ)は豊臣秀吉(とよとみひでよし)に従って五大老に列し、1598年（慶長3）会津120万石を与えられて春日山(かすがやま)から若松に移った。1600年徳川家康に抗し関ヶ原の戦いの口火を切ったが敗れ、翌年出羽(でわ)米沢(よねざわ)30万石に移され、1664年（寛文4）綱勝(つなかつ)の末期(まつご)養子を許されて綱憲(つなのり)（吉良義央(きらよしなか)の長男）が襲封するに際し15万石に削封され、以後幕末に及ぶ。明治期に伯爵を授けられた。

［小林清治］

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