Uesugi Kenshin

Uesugi Kenshin portrayed by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Uesugi Kenshin

The castle Kasugayama

Uesugi Kenshin ( Japanese 上杉 謙信 ; born February 18, 1530 ; died April 19, 1578 ) was a daimyo of the Japanese Sengoku period and one of the most colorful heroes of this era. His reputation as arch rival Takeda Shingen and as the incarnation of the Shinto Buddhist war deity Bishamonten is legendary .

Live and act

Kenshin was born as the second son of the lord of the castle Nagao Tamekage ( 長尾 為 景 ) in Tochio (栃 尾) in the province of Echigo and received the child name Sarumatsu-maru and then the name Kagetora ( 景虎 ). After his father's death, his older brother Harukage (春景) followed him, but since he was weak and also sick, he showed little ability to rule. Kagetora, then 11 years old, felt so disturbed by this condition that he asked for permission to become a monk under the name Shūshimbō . He traveled through various provinces, then met Usami Sadayuki (宇佐美 定 行) in the monasteries on Mount Hiei , who advised him to return to his home province. He followed this advice, was back home in 1543, deposed his brother and, with the help of Sadayuki, took over the administration of the parental domain.

He began his career as a strong man by forcing his brother-in-law Nagao Masakage (長尾 政 景; 1526–1564) to make peace with him and submit to him. At that time Murakami Yoshikiyo (村上 義 清; 1501–1573) was at war with Takeda Shingen . Defeated, he asked Kagetora for help, whereupon the latter began an argument with Shingen that was to last more than ten years. 1551 sought Uesugi Norimasa (上杉 憲 正; 1523-1579), beaten by Hōjō Ujiyasu (北 条 氏 康; 1515-1571), protection in the castle of his strong vassal. But this set conditions: Norimasa had to relinquish his office of Kantō-Kanryō, adopt him as a son and give him the title Echigo no Kami (越 後 の 上). The following year, Kagetora shaved his hair and from then on called himself Kenshin, under which name he became known. The Shogun ordered him to march to Kyōto and fight the Hōjō there. So it happened that he had to deal with Takeda Shingen and the daimyo of Odawara at the same time. The battles with Shingen were mainly fought in the Kawanonakajima area north of Shinano . The two great fighters met each year and showed their strategic skills, with every argument ending in a draw.

In 1558 Kenshin declared war on the Hōjō and stormed the castles Numata and Umayabashi in the Kōzuke . Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru then gave him the title of Commissioner of Kanto (関東奉行, Kanto Bugyo) and allowed him a character of his name to be used, which Kagetora to Terutora was. Pursuing his goals, Kenshin besieged Odawara Castle and fought with Shingen at Kawanonakajima, where his brother Nobushige found his death. The battle in September 1561, in which a 20,000-strong Takeda army faced 18,000 of the Uesugi clan, is particularly famous . Kenshin finally conquered the province of Etchū and in 1564 also Kōzuke. During this phase of the war, the Shogun intervened and forced him to make peace with the Hōjō. A clause of the contract said that Kenshin, who took monastic vows in his youth and had no offspring, had to adopt Ujiyasu's son Saburō, who was to be named Kagetora . After all, when this peace was made, Kenshin was able to devote all his attention to Shingen, who had just invaded Etchu and whom he pursued to Kaga and Noto .

While Kenshin was at war far from home, he heard that Oda Nobunaga was besieging a number of his castles in the Kanto area. He hurried back and did not hesitate to attack Nobunaga, who was about to take control of Japan. He joined a coalition against Nobunaga brought together by Takeda Katsuyori , son and successor of Shingen. Before he could personally intervene in the fight against his greatest enemy, Nobunaga sent Shibata Katsuie , Maeda Toshiie, and others against him. A few months later, Kenshin fell ill and died on April 19, 1578. This put an abrupt end to the successful campaigns of the 48-year-old. He received the posthumous Buddhist name Shinko.

Traits

Takeda Shingen, who gave him the name Dragon of Echigo , associated with Kenshin a feeling of deeply felt respect on both sides - comparable to the relationship between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin . Legend has it that Kenshin, whose lands were by the sea, gave salt to Takeda Shingen - whose lands were inland and therefore relied on salt supplies from the sea. Johan Huizinga (who does not speak of a legend at this point) writes in his book Homo Ludens:

“A Japanese prince, Kenshin, who was at war with Prince Shingen, who lived in the mountains, learned that a third, who was not in open feud with him, had cut off the supply of salt. Thereupon Kenshin ordered his subjects to send the enemy salt in abundance and wrote to him: 'I do not fight with salt, but with the sword.' "

While Takeda's great opponent Oda Nobunaga is said to have sneered at the death of Takeda, Kenshin is reported to have cried with dismay at the news of Takeda Shingen's sudden death. - The partially preserved prayers of Kenshin to Bishamonten, the Shinto Buddhist war deity, testify to deep religiosity. - Similar to Takeda Shingen, Kenshin also rejected the use of European firearms - they ran counter to the Bushidō , the "way of the warrior". Nevertheless, both of them used firearms occasionally in their battles.

Shinto

Uesugi Kenshin is venerated as a Kami (Shinto deity) in the Shinto shrines Kasugayama Shrine ( Niigata Prefecture , built in 1887) and Uesugi Shrine in Yonezawa ( Yamagata Prefecture , built in 1871 and in 1902 the Great Imperial Shrine of the Special class ( bekku-kempei-taisha ) appointed).

Remarks

1. ↑ The office of Kantō-Kanryō (関 東 管 領) - governor of Kantō - was a hereditary office established in the 14th {{subst: nnbsp}} century.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ According to the then valid calendar on the 21st day of the 1st month in the 3rd year of the Kyōroku era (享 禄 3 年 1 月 21 日).
2. ↑ According to the then valid calendar on the 13th day of the 3rd month in the 6th year of the Tenshō era (天正 6 年 3 月 13 日).
3. ^ 2 Huizinga, Johan: Humo Ludens, Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Hamburg 1987, p. 116 para. 1
4. ^ Jean Herbert: Shintô. At The Fountain-Head of Japan . George Allen & Unwin, 1967, p. 451.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Uesugi Kenshin . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , page 1645.
• 藤 木 久 志 (Fujiki HISASHI): 上杉 謙信(Uesugi-Kenshin) . In: Frank B. Gibney (Ed.): Britannica International Encyclopaedia , Vol. 2. Tokyo 1972, pp. 617f. (Japanese)
• Papinot, Edmond: Terutora In: Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan. Reprinted by Tuttle, 1972 edition of 1910 edition. ISBN 0-8048-0996-8 .

Web links

Commons : Uesugi Kenshin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Uesugi Kenshin Samurai Archives (English)

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Uesugi is the family name, Kenshin the first name.