The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the

Muromachi The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

and

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

s (14th to 17th centuries). Appert, Georges. (1888)
''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79.
/ref> At its height, the clan had three main branches: the Ōgigayatsu, Inukake, and Yamanouchi. Its most well-known member is the warlord

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as was a Japanese ''daimyō''. He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Known a ...

(1530–1578). During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

, the Uesugi were a '' tozama'' or outsider clan, in contrast with the '' fudai'' or insider ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

'' clans which had been hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan.

History

The clan claims descent from the Fujiwara clan, specifically Fujiwara no Yoshikado, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)
"Uesugi",_''Nobiliare_du_Japon'',_p._67_[PDF_71_of_80)
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="DF 71 of 80)">"Uesugi", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 67 [PDF 71 of 80)
/nowiki>">DF 71 of 80)">"Uesugi", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 67 [PDF 71 of 80)
/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5-11. who was a ''daijō-daijin'' during the 9th century. Uesugi Shigefusa, Kanjūji Shigefusa was a 13th generation descendant of the clan's great progenitor and the originator of the clan's name. Near the end of the 13th century, he received the Uesugi domain in

Tango Province was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyoto Prefecture. Tango bordered on Tanba to the south, Tajima to the west, and Wakasa to the east. Its abbreviated form name was . It was also referred to as or . In terms of the Gokishichi ...

and adopted the name "Uesugi" after arriving and establishing himself there.

Muromachi period

Throughout the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

, members of the clan were appointed as '' shugo'' (provincial governors) and would also regularly hold sway over the post Kantō Kanrei (shogun's deputy in Kantō). Through their dominance of this position, the clan gained a large amount of power in the Kantō region. In 1449, Kantō Kanrei

Ashikaga Shigeuji ( – 1497) was a Muromachi period warrior and the Kamakura-fu's fifth and last ''Kantō kubō'' (''Shōgun'' Deputy). Fourth son of fourth ''Kubō'' Ashikaga Mochiuji, he succeeded his father only in 1449, a full decade after his death by '' s ...

killed his Uesugi deputy in order to check the family's power. However, Uesugi forces rose up throughout the region and drove out Shigeuji. After ousting the Kanrei, they asked the shogunate in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

for a different deputy to be placed in power. The Uesugi's deposition of Shigeuji left them as the predominant power in the Kantō region, and the clan was able to grow rapidly. They eventually split into their three main branches, which were named after their traditional homelands. The Ōgigayatsu controlled Kawagoe Castle, the Yamanouchi were centered in Hirai, and the Inukake held a castle in the region as well. Each of these branch families can trace their lineage to

Uesugi Yorishige Uesugi (sometimes written ''Uyesugi'') is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: People *Uesugi clan, a Japanese samurai clan **Uesugi Akisada, (1454–1510), a samurai of the Uesugi clan ** Uesugi Harunori (1751–1822), a Ja ...

, mother of

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Murom ...

, the founder of the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establi ...

. These three branches would commence infighting for dominance within the clan and the Kantō region almost as soon as the split occurred. This conflict would continue for roughly twenty-five years until around the end of the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. '' Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bun ...

in 1477, which brought the end of the Ashikaga shogunate. Though the Ōgigayatsu and Yamanouchi branches both survived this conflict, the Inukake did not.

Sengoku period

Traditionally, the Ōgigayatsu branch allied themselves with the Ōta clan, while the Yamanouchi were aligned with the Nagao clan. While the Ōgigayatsu were less numerous than the Yamanouchi, they held on to power due to

Ōta Dōkan , also known as Ōta Sukenaga (太田資長) or Ōta Dōkan Sukenaga, was a Japanese ''samurai'' warrior-poet, military tactician and Buddhist monk. Ōta Sukenaga took the tonsure (bald scalp) as a Buddhist priest in 1478, and he also adopted t ...

's construction of the Edo Castle in the 1450s. At the same time as the Uesugi branches continued to compete for power with themselves, the Hōjō clan began to gain power in the lower area of the Kantō region. The first head of this rising clan,

Hōjō Sōun , also known as was Japanese ''daimyo'' and the first head of the Later Hōjō clan, one of the major powers in Japan's Sengoku period. Although he only belonged to a side branch of the main, more prestigious Ise family, he fought his way up, gain ...

, allied himself with Nagao Tamekage, Deputy Constable of Kamakura, and would go on to become one of their strongest rivals. This rapid expansion of a rival clan forced the two rival branches of the Uesugi to become allies. In 1537, the city of Kawagoe fell to the Hōjō clan. By 1545, the united Uesugi launched a campaign to regain their power in the region and retake lost possessions. However, the Ōgigayatsu branch would ultimately come to an end with the death of

Uesugi Tomosada Uesugi Tomosada (上杉朝定; 1525 – 1546), also known as Ōgigayatsu Tomosada (扇ヶ谷朝定), was a samurai commander of the Ōgigayatsu branch of the Uesugi clan around the middle of Japan's Sengoku period. The eldest legitimate son of Ues ...

during a failed siege of Kawagoe castle later that year. Uesugi Kagekatsu

Near the end of the Sengoku period, the Uesugi would undergo major changes in their leadership. Uesugi Norimasa, holder of a castle which had fallen in 1551 to the Hōjō, took up arms with his retainer Nagao Kagetora. Kagetora would go on to change his name to Uesugi Kenshin after campaigning against the Hōjō in

Sagami Province was a province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu, Musashi, and Suruga. It had access to the Pac ...

. Kenshin would later become one of Sengoku's most prominent generals, continuing to wage war against the Hōjō for control of the Kantō region. Kenshin's adopted son Uesugi Kagekatsu eventually became head of the Uesugi clan. However, his support of Ishida Mitsunari during the battle of Sekigahara would result in a devastating blow to the power of the Uesugi, as Mitsunari's forces were crushed by

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

and his supporters.

Edo period

During the Edo period, the Uesugi were given the domain of

Yonezawa Yonezawa City Hall is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 81,707 in 33,278 households, and a population density of 150 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Yonezawa is most famous for ...

, a '' Tozama daimyō'' worth 300,000 '' koku''. The domain, located far from the capital in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku reta ...

, was considered fairly representative of what might be given to ''daimyō'' considered "outsiders" by the shogunate. Yonezawa had minimal direct control from the shogunate, but was not urbanized and was largely an agricultural domain. Despite agricultural advances and generally high growth in the 17th century, Yonezawa, like most parts of the country, experienced a considerable drop in growth after 1700. The official ''koku'' revenue of the Uesugi ''

'' was cut in half in 1664, but the family maintained its same expensive lifestlye as before. After Yonezawa entered debt and experienced famine in the 1750s, the current ''daimyō'' Uesugi Shigesada considered giving the territory back to the shogunate. Instead, he allowed his adopted son Uesugi Harunori to take over as ''daimyō''. Through agricultural and moral reforms, as well as other strict policies, Harunori was able to restore a measure of prosperity to the domain. After his death, the shogunate officially praised Yonezawa as an example of good governance.

Meiji period and modern era

The

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

in 1868 brought the abolition of the ''han'' system, that is, the end of the domains, the feudal lords, and the samurai class. During this period, the head of the clan was Uesugi Mochinori. While the ''han'' system ended, the Uesugi clan survives to this day. Its present head, Uesugi Kuninori (born 1942), is a professor at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Ministry of Education.

Crests and banners

The clan crest of the Uesugi was two flying sparrows in bamboo. Uesugi Kenshin had several personal standards: the first character in Bishamonten (毘, bi), a flag of divine appointment, an open fan horse insignia, and the suspended and chaotically written dragon character (龍).

Notable members and retainers

Members

: * Uesugi Shigefusa (13th century) * Uesugi Norifusa (died 1355) *

Uesugi Shigeyoshi Uesugi (sometimes written ''Uyesugi'') is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: People * Uesugi clan, a Japanese samurai clan **Uesugi Akisada, (1454–1510), a samurai of the Uesugi clan **Uesugi Harunori (1751–1822), a Ja ...

(died 1349) * Uesugi Akiyoshi (died 1351) * Uesugi Yoshinori (died 1378) * Uesugi Noriharu (died 1379) * Uesugi Norikata (1335–1394) * Uesugi Norimoto (1383–1418) * Uesugi Norizane (1410–1466) * Uesugi Kiyokata (died 1442) * Uesugi Fusaaki (1432–1466) *

Uesugi Noritada Uesugi (sometimes written ''Uyesugi'') is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: People *Uesugi clan, a Japanese samurai clan **Uesugi Akisada, (1454–1510), a samurai of the Uesugi clan ** Uesugi Harunori (1751–1822), a Ja ...

(1433–1454) * Uesugi Akisada (1454–1510) * Uesugi Tomooki (1488–1537) * Uesugi Norimasa (1522–1579) *

(1525–1546) *

(1530–1578) *

Uesugi Kagetora was the seventh son of Hōjō Ujiyasu; known as Hōjō Saburō, he was adopted by Uesugi Kenshin, and was meant to be Kenshin's heir. However, in 1578, he was attacked in his castle at Otate by Uesugi Kagekatsu—Kagetora's respective brother-i ...

(1552–1579) * Uesugi Kagekatsu (1555–1623) * Uesugi Harunori (1751–1822)

Retainers

Amakasu Kagemochi (died 1604) was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was a retainer of the Uesugi clan. Turnbull, Stephen R. (2013)1553-64: Samurai Power Struggle,'' p. 70 He was a commander of the Masugata Castle. Kagemochi distinguished himself in ...

* Ayukawa Kiyonaga *

Honjō Shigenaga was a Japanese Samurai who lived from the Azuchi–Momoyama period through to the Edo period. Shigenaga served the Uesugi clan and was known for his betrayal against them. He held the court title '' Echizen no kami''. Biography Shigenaga fo ...

* Honjō Saneyori * Honjō Hidetsuna *

Irobe Katsunaga was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. A high-ranking retainer of the Uesugi clan. Katsunaga was one of the ''Kita-Echigo no Kokuninshu'' (北越後の国人衆; "Countrymen of Northern Echigo"), and was considered one of the most respecte ...

* Jōjō Masashige *

Kakizaki Kageie was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who served the Uesugi clan of Echigo Province. He was one of the most important and well known generals of Uesugi Kenshin. He earned a reputation for being extremely ferocious warrior like Kato Kiyom ...

* Kawada Nagachika * Kitajō Takahiro * Kitajō Kagehiro * Kojima Motoshige * Kojima Yatarō *

Murakami Yoshikiyo Murakami Yoshikiyo (村上義清, 1501–1573) was a Japanese samurai from the and retainer of the Uesugi clan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Yoshikiyo followed in fighting against both Takeda Nobutora and his son Takeda Shingen ...

* Nakajō Fujikasuke * Nakajō Kageyasu * Naoe Kagetsuna *

Naoe Kanetsugu was a Japanese samurai of the 16th–17th centuries. The eldest son of Higuchi Kanetoyo, Kanetsugu was famed for his service to two generations of the Uesugi ''daimyōs''. He was also known by his court title, Yamashiro no Kami (山城守) or ...

* Ōkuma Tomohide * Saitō Tomonobu * Sanponji Sadanaga *

Shibata Naganori , was a Japanese military commander who served under the warlord Uesugi Kenshin , later known as was a Japanese ''daimyō''. He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period o ...

* Shibata Shigeie * Suda Mitsuchika * Kojima Motoshige * Suibara Takaie * Takemata Yoshitsuna * Usami Sadamitsu *

Yamayoshi Toyomori (1541–1577) was a hatamoto serving Uesugi Kenshin. Toyomori negotiated a peace treaty with the Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 ...

* Yasuda Akimoto *

Yasuda Nagahide (1517 – May 8, 1582?) was a Japanese , who served the , during the Sengoku period. Nagahide was a trusted retainer of Kenshin's. He fought in the left flank at the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima (1561) and received a personal commendation fr ...

* Yoshie Kagesuke

Castles

Kasugayama Castle is a Sengoku period ''yamashiro''-style Japanese castle located in the Nakayashiki neighborhood of the city of Jōetsu, Niigata prefecture. It was the primary fortress of the warlord Uesugi Kenshin, and was originally built and ruled by the Nag ...

Tochio Castle was a castle structure in Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan. The site is located on a 227-meter mountain. Young Uesugi Kenshin spent five years in the castle. History The exact date of the castle's foundation is unknown but built in the Muromachi period. ...

: Honjō Saneyori * Sakado Castle: Nagao Masakage *Kitajō Castle: Kitajō Takahiro *Yoita Castle:

*Moto-Yoita Castle:

*Nechi Castle:

*Akada castle: Saito Tomonobu *Masagata Castle:

*Jōjō Castle: Jōjō Masashige *Kakizaki Castle:

*Yasuda Castle:

Notes

References

* Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888)
''Ancien Japon''.
Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha. * Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002)
''Japan Encyclopedia''.
Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

. * Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999)
''Japan's Kaiserhof in de Edo-Zeit: Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867''.
Münster: Tagenbuch. * Papinot, Edmund. (1906) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon''. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha. * Ravinia, Mark. (1995). "State-Building and Political Economy in Early-Modern Japan", ''Journal of Asian Studies''. 54.4. * Sansom, George Bailey. (1961)
''A History of Japan: 1334–1615''.
Stanford: Stanford University Press. * __________. (1963)
''A History of Japan: 1615–1867''.
Stanford: Stanford University Press.

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Uesugi clan Japanese clans