Uesugi Kenshin

A military commander and feudal lord of Echigo (Niigata Prefecture) during the Sengoku period. The ancestor of the Yonezawa Domain of the early modern Uesugi clan. His real surname was Taira Nagao, and his father was Nagao Tamekage, the lord of Kasugayama Castle (Joetsu City) in Kubiki, who was the deputy governor of the Uesugi clan, the guardian of Echigo Province, and his mother was the daughter of Nagao Akiyoshi, the lord of Suyoshi Castle (Nagaoka City) in Koshi, a member of the same clan. He was born on January 21, 1261. His first name was Torachiyo, after the year of the tiger he was born in, and then Heizokagetora. He later changed his name to Masatora and Terutora. His religious name was originally Muneshin, and from 1570 (Genki 1) he was called Fushikian Kenshin.

In 1507 (Eisho 4), his father, Tamekage, killed the Shugo (military governor), Uesugi Fusayoshi, and installed Jojo Sadazane, a member of the Uesugi clan, as a puppet Shugo (military governor), becoming the de facto ruler of Echigo Province, and is known as a typical example of a man of overthrowing the ruling class. After his death in 1536 (Tenbun 5), his eldest son, Harukage, succeeded him, but the country was divided into various regions by the rival powers of the Nagao clan, and wars continued. His younger brother, Kagetora, was entrusted to the care of Tenshitsu Koiku at the Rinzai sect Rinsen-ji Temple (Joetsu City) under Kasugayama Castle, but later relied on his mother's side, the Koshi Nagao clan, and moved to Tochio Castle (Tochio district of Nagaoka City). He gained control of half of the Chuetsu region and overwhelmed the forces of his brother-in-law, Nagao Masakage, who was at Ueda Sakado Castle (Minamiuonuma City) in the Chuetsu Uonuma region, and his older brother, Nagao Harukage, who controlled the Joetsu region. At the end of 1548, he entered Kasugayama Castle as his elder brother's adopted son, and in 1551 he overthrew Masakage in a conspiracy, achieving the unification of the Koshu and Chuetsu regions. He then adopted Masakage's son Kihei (Uesugi Kagekatsu), and with his influence he led the powerful clan lords known as the Agakitashu in Shimoetsu, and thereafter launched foreign campaigns in many directions. First, in 1552, he sent troops to Kanto to aid Kanto Kanrei Uesugi Norimasa, who was being pursued by Hojo Ujiyasu of Odawara. After traveling to Kyoto and being appointed as Jugoige (Junior Fifth Rank) and Danjo Shohitsu (Military Officer), by Emperor Gonara, he sent troops to Kanto, known as the Koshizan Expeditions, which continued for 17 years until 1569 (Eiroku 12). He also sent troops to northern Shinano to aid Ogasawara Nagatoki and Murakami Yoshikiyo, who were being pursued by Takeda Shingen of Kai (Yamanashi Prefecture), in the Battle of Kawanakajima (Nagano City), which was repeated until 1564. In particular, the fierce clash between the two great warriors, Kenshin and Shingen, at Hachimanbara in Kawanakajima in September 1561 is famous in military history, but in the aftermath of the war, Shingen issued a letter of assignment distributing the region to his vassals as a fief, while Kenshin merely issued a letter of commendation in recognition of his military achievements, which suggests that the victory was Shingen's.

In 1559, he went to Kyoto and met Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and in 1560 he advanced into the Hokuriku region, beginning the battle with the Ikko Ikki. In 1561, he cornered the Hojo clan all the way to their main castle in Odawara but was unable to defeat them, and on his way back, he held a ceremony at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura to inherit the Kanto Kanrei position and the Uesugi family name from Uesugi Norimasa, taking the name Uesugi Masatora, and supporting Ashikaga Fujiuji as the Kamakura kubo (kubo), he made Umayabashi Castle (Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture) his base for conquering northern Kanto. In 1569, at the request of Hojo Ujiyasu, he made peace on the condition that the province of Kozuke (Gunma Prefecture) be ceded and that Ujiyasu's son Saburo Ujihide (Uesugi Kagetora) be made successor, and made Takeda Shingen his common enemy. However, after Shingen's death in 1573 (Tensho 1), the main challenge became confrontation with the army of Oda Nobunaga, who had defeated Asakura Yoshikage and the Ikko Ikki from the Hokuriku region and was approaching the border. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Kasugayama Castle on March 13, 6th year of Tensho. He was 49 years old. He was known for his wide military radius, his faith in Shinto and Buddhism, and his emphasis on honor. He was given the posthumous name Fushikiinden Shinko Kenshin, and was buried at Shojoshin-in Temple in Koyasan.

He never married, and immediately after his death, a three-year conflict broke out between his two adopted sons, Kagekatsu, who was based in Kasugayama Castle, and Kagetora, who was based in Funai Otate, which divided Echigo in two. This completely changed the nature of Kenshin's rule, which had previously been based on an alliance of powerful clans, and under Kagekatsu, who won the conflict, a dictatorship was established centered on the power of his own family, the Ueda Nagao clan, and the newcomers, the Hokushinshu.

[Fujiki Hisashi]

"The Life of Uesugi Kenshin, by Fuse Hideharu (1917, Kenshin Bunko)" ▽ "Uesugi Kenshin, by Inoue Teruo (1966, Jinbutsu Oraisha)" ▽ "History of Niigata Prefecture, Documents 3-5" (1981-83, Niigata Prefecture)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

戦国時代の越後(えちご)（新潟県）の武将、戦国大名の雄。近世上杉家米沢藩(よねざわはん)の祖。本姓は平姓長尾(ながお)氏、父は越後国の守護上杉氏の守護代で頸城(くびき)春日山城(かすがやまじょう)（上越市）の城主長尾為景(ためかげ)、母はその一族で古志(こし)栖吉城(すよしじょう)（長岡市）の城主長尾顕吉(あきよし)の娘である。享禄(きょうろく)3年正月21日生まれ。初名を生まれた寅(とら)年にちなんで虎千代(とらちよ)、ついで平三景虎(へいぞうかげとら)といい、のち政虎、輝虎と名を変え、また道号は初め宗心、1570年（元亀1）から不識庵(ふしきあん)謙信という。

　1507年（永正4）父為景は守護上杉房能(ふさよし)を殺し、上杉一族の上条定実(じょうじょうさだざね)を傀儡(かいらい)守護にたてて、実質的な越後国主となったことから、典型的な下剋上(げこくじょう)の人として知られる。1536年（天文5）その死後は嫡子(ちゃくし)晴景が後を継ぐが、国内は各地に分立対抗する長尾一族の勢力ごとに分裂し戦乱が続いた。弟の景虎は春日山城下の臨済宗(りんざいしゅう)林泉寺（上越市）の天室光育(てんしつこういく)に預けられるが、のち母方の古志長尾家を頼って栃尾城(とちおじょう)（長岡(ながおか)市栃尾地区）に移り、中越地方のなかばを掌握して、中越魚沼(うおぬま)地方の上田坂戸城(さかどじょう)（南魚沼市）にいる義兄の長尾政景や、上越地方を押さえる実兄晴景の勢力を圧倒する。1548年末には兄の養子となる形で春日山城に入り、1551年には政景をも陰謀で倒して、上・中越地方の統一を実現し、政景の子喜平次(きへいじ)（上杉景勝(かげかつ)）を養子にすると、その勢威で下越揚北衆(あがきたしゅう)といわれた豪族領主たちをも率いて、以後、多方面にわたる外征に転ずる。まず1552年、小田原の北条氏康(ほうじょううじやす)に追われた関東管領(かんれい)上杉憲政(のりまさ)を助けて関東に兵を出し、上洛(じょうらく)して後奈良天皇(ごならてんのう)から従五位下(じゅごいげ)、弾正少弼(だんじょうしょうひつ)に任ぜられたのち、越山といわれた関東出兵は、1569年（永禄12）まで17年間にわたって続けられ、また、甲斐(かい)（山梨県）の武田信玄(たけだしんげん)に追われた小笠原長時(おがさわらながとき)、村上義清(むらかみよしきよ)らを助けた北信濃(きたしなの)出兵は、川中島(かわなかじま)（長野市）の戦いといわれ、1564年まで繰り返された。とくに1561年9月の川中島八幡原(はちまんばら)での謙信・信玄両雄激突は戦史に有名であるが、戦後処理で信玄はこの地方を知行地(ちぎょうち)として家臣に分配する宛行状(あてがいじょう)を出しているのに、謙信はただ戦功をねぎらう感状を出しているにすぎないという事実からみると、勝利は信玄のものであったと推定される。

　1559年上洛し将軍足利義輝(あしかがよしてる)に会い、1560年からは北陸にも進出し、一向一揆(いっこういっき)との戦いが始まる。1561年北条氏を小田原の本城まで追い詰めるが破れず、帰途に鎌倉の鶴岡八幡宮(つるがおかはちまんぐう)で上杉憲政から関東管領職と上杉の名跡を受け継ぐ儀式を挙行して上杉政虎と称し、足利藤氏を鎌倉公方(くぼう)に擁し厩橋城(うまやばしじょう)（群馬県前橋市）を北関東制圧の拠点とした。1569年には北条氏康に請われて上野(こうずけ)一国（群馬県）の割譲と氏康の子三郎氏秀の入嗣(にゅうし)（上杉景虎）を条件に講和し、武田信玄を共同の敵とするが、1573年（天正1）信玄の死後は、北陸から朝倉義景(よしかげ)や一向一揆を滅ぼして国境に迫った織田信長軍との対決が大きな課題となる。天正(てんしょう)6年3月13日中気（脳溢血(のういっけつ)）により春日山城中で没した。49歳であった。軍事的行動半径の広さや神仏信仰、名分の重視などによって知られる。法名は不識院殿真光謙信、高野山(こうやさん)清浄心院に葬る。

　終生妻をめとらず、死の直後から2人の養子、春日山城に拠(よ)った景勝、府内御館(おたて)に拠った景虎の間で越後を二分した抗争3年にわたる御館の乱が続き、かつての豪族連合的な謙信の支配の形は一変し、争乱に勝った景勝の下で、その実家上田長尾家の勢力と新参の北信衆を中心とした独裁が実現する。

［藤木久志］

『布施秀治著『上杉謙信伝』（1917・謙信文庫）』▽『井上鋭夫著『上杉謙信』（1966・人物往来社）』▽『『新潟県史　資料編3～5』（1981～83・新潟県）』

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