Uesugi Kagekatsu 上杉 景勝 | |
|---|---|
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| 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 |
| Died | April 19, 1623(1623-04-19) (aged 67) Yonezawa, Japan |
| Spouse | Kikuhime |
| Children | Uesugi Sadakatsu |
| Parents |
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| 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 |
Uesugi Kagekatsu (上杉 景勝; 8 January 1556 – 19 April 1623) was a Japanesesamuraidaimyō during theSengoku andEdo periods.[1] He was the adopted son ofUesugi Kenshin andUesugi Kagetora’s brother in law.
Kagekatsu was the son ofNagao Masakage, the head of the UedaNagao clan 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 Kagetora for 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.
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 Nagayoshi had raided Echigo in his absence.
When Oda forces underShibata Katsuie andSassa Narimasalaid siege to Uozu castle in 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.[2]
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.
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 campaign 1590 underMaeda Toshiie, and rise to prominence to become a member of theCouncil of Five Elders. Originally holding a 550,000koku fief inEchigo Province, Kagekatsu received the fief ofAizu, worth a huge 1.2 millionkoku when 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.
TheSekigahara Campaign 1600 can be said to have begun, at least in part, with Kagekatsu, who was the firstdaimyō to 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 Yoshiaki andDate Masamune would 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 Shiroishi and later in the end of campaign atSiege of Hasedo.
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 clan in theOsaka Campaign 1614–1615.
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 (山鳥毛; "feather of acopper pheasant"), equally known asSanchōmō by 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 by Uesugi Kagekatsu, and had been inherited by his clan.[3]
| Preceded by | Uesugi family head 1580–1623 | Succeeded by |
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