was a Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

of the 16th–17th centuries. The eldest son of Higuchi Kanetoyo, Kanetsugu was famed for his service to two generations of the Uesugi ''

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 nominall ...

s''. He was also known by his court title, Yamashiro no Kami (山城守) or his childhood name, . Kanetsugu served first as a koshō (小姓) to

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 ...

. After Kenshin had died, he served Kagekatsu, the adopted son of Kenshin. Kanetsugu's brother, Ōkuni Sanehiro, was also a famous Uesugi retainer.

Biography

Kanetsugu was born , at Sakato Castle in

Echigo Province was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niig ...

. His father, Higuchi Sōemon Kanetoyo, was a senior retainer of

Nagao Masakage was the head of the Ueda Nagao clan following the Sengoku period The was a period in 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 col ...

, the lord of Sakato Castle.文武兼備の智将直江兼続
When Yoroku came of age he married his first cousin Osen from his maternal side, the widow of Uesugi retainer Naoe Nobutsuna, and took the Naoe family name in order to become head of the family line since Osen did not have any children from the previous marriage nor have any male heir available to succeed the family. Kanetsugu became an Uesugi councilor at the age of 22, quickly distinguished himself as an outstanding commander, he fought at Battle of Tedorigawa and was involved in much of the fighting that took place on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

coast against Sassa Narimasa and Maeda Toshiie. In 1590, he fought in the Odawara Campaign at Hachiōji Castle. In 1600, Kanetsugu was also responsible for the actions of the Uesugi clan against the allies of the Tokugawa during the lead-up to the climactic

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

. Following the Uesugi clan's surrender to the Tokugawa, in 1601, their holdings were transferred to the much smaller fief of Yonezawa, with an income of 300,000

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

. Kanetsugu was granted a stipend shortly before he retired.

After death

Following his death, his wife Lady Osen (お船), per the custom at the time, took the tonsure, cutting her hair short and becoming a Buddhist nun. She was renamed Lady Teishin-ni (貞心尼). Teishin-ni helped rear the young Uesugi heir, Uesugi Sadakatsu, eventually dying in 1637 at the age of 81.

Personality

Naoe Kanetsugu was respected for his judgment. In "The Life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi," Walter and M.E. Dening recount an anecdote in which Hideyoshi, whose temporary unification of Japan paved the way for Ieyasu's shogunate, decides to visit Uesugi Kagekatsu, Kanetsugu's liege lord at the time, in person, accompanied by just a few retainers. On receipt of the news, Kagekatsu called a council to discuss what was best to do under the circumstances. The majority of the councilors advised the assassination of Hideyoshi, arguing that this was by far the simplest way of ridding themselves of a dangerous enemy. But Naoe Kanetsugu condemned this advice as unworthy of a man holding the position of Kagekatsu. "Hideyoshi's coming among us unguarded," said Kanetsugu, "is proof of his profound respect for our master. With lesser personages Hideyoshi would not so expose himself to danger. Knowing that our lord is a man of noble disposition, he trusts himself among us. Were we take advantage of this and slay him, the story of our baseness and treachery would be handed down to distant posterity to our eternal shame. No: let our master meet magnanimity with magnanimity; let him have an audience with Hideyoshi and let them see whether they cannot come to an understanding. If they cannot agree, then we will fight, but not till Hideyoshi has been sent back to his own country."

In popular culture

The 2009 48th NHK Taiga drama '' Tenchijin'' was a dramatization of his life. He is a playable character in ''

Pokémon Conquest ''Pokémon Conquest'', known in Japan as , is a 2012 tactical role-playing video game developed by Tecmo Koei, published by The Pokémon Company and distributed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. The game is a crossover between the ''Pokémon'' and ...

'' (Pokémon + Nobunaga's Ambition in Japan), with his partner

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of what each of thos ...

being Alakazam". He is also in all of the games of Koei's Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi game series as well as being in the game Kessen as a minor general named "Naod". An alternate Reality version appears in the game Sengoku Rance, as a woman, Naoe Ai. In KissxSis, he is the fantasy of Yūzuki Kiryū, Keita's teacher. She has so many items dedicated to him, including body pillows, action figures and even a replica armour and weapon. Kanetsugu appears in the Samurai Warriors series as a young samurai from the Uesugi clan who later befriended Sanada Yukimura and

Ishida Mitsunari Ishida Mitsunari (, 1559 – November 6, 1600) was a Japanese samurai and military commander of the late Sengoku period of Japan. He is probably best remembered as the commander of the Western army in the Battle of Sekigahara following the ...

, his weapons are a sword and paper charms. Kanetsugu is also represented, though in fictional female form, in the popular Anime 'Hyakka Ryoran: Samurai Girls', and its sequel 'Samurai Bride'. In the Light Novel Nekomomogatarai (Black) from the

Monogatari Series is a Japanese light novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Vofan. The plot centers on Koyomi Araragi, a third-year high school student who survives a vampire attack and finds himself helping girls involved with a variety ...

the protagonist Koyomi Araragi compares himself to Naoe to counter his little sister Tsukihi who accused him of being a "loveless person". See

People of the Sengoku period in popular culture Many significant Japanese historical people of the Sengoku period appear in works of popular culture such as anime, manga, and video games. This article presents information on references to several historical people in such works. Akechi Mitsuhid ...

References

External links