Uesugi Kenshin

Uesugi Kenshin (born Feb. 18, 1530, Takada, Echigo province, Japan—died April 19, 1578, Takada) was one of the most powerful military figures in 16th-century Japan.

Nagao Torachiyo was the third son of the head of Echigo province in northeastern Japan. With the death of his father in 1543, the family’s control of the area began to disintegrate. Torachiyo not only restored order to the area but also gained control of neighbouring provinces, becoming one of the most powerful warriors on the Kantō Plain in central Honshu.

In 1552 Uesugi Norimasa, who had inherited the position of kanrei, or governor-general, of Kantō and whose family had long been the most powerful in the area, was defeated by the Hōjō clan and took shelter with Torachiyo, whom he adopted as his son. Torachiyo then changed his surname to Uesugi. He received many of the hereditary vassals of the Uesugi family, and he also became involved in a series of battles with the eastern warlords of the Hōjō and Takeda families for control of the Kantō region. Uesugi’s battles with the noted general Takeda Shingen resulted in no permanent gain for either side, however.

Meanwhile, Oda Nobunaga had become the strongest military leader in Japan, and in 1573 he overthrew the shogunate and began to consolidate his control over the capital. The only warrior strong enough to challenge Oda was Uesugi, and in 1577 he agreed to undertake an expedition to restore the shogunate. He died, however, before the expedition could get under way.