Uesugi Kagetora (1552 – April 19, 1579) was the seventh son of Hojo Ujiyasu and was originally known as Hojo Saburo. He was adopted by Uesugi Kenshin and intended to be Kenshin's heir. However, in 1578, he was attacked in his Otate Castle by Uesugi Kagekatsu, his brother-in-law, and was ultimately defeated. Kagetora committed suicide the following year at Samegao Castle.
Born in either 1552 or 1554, Kagetora was also known as Hojo Ujihide, Hojo Saburo, and Saburo Kagetora during his lifetime. He was the seventh son (the sixth to survive to adulthood) of Hojo Ujiyasu, and the brother of Hojo Ujimasa, Hojo Ujiteru, Hojo Ujikuni, Hojo Ujinori, Hojo Ujitada, and Hojo Ujimitsu. His mother was either the sister-in-law of Toyama Yasumitsu, a vassal of the Hojo clan, or Suikeiin, Ujiyasu's principal wife. Historians generally agree that Hojo Saburo and Hojo Ujihide were two different individuals, with Ujihide being the son of Hojo Tsunashige and residing in Edo, while Saburo lived in Echigo.
As a child, Kagetora was sent to the priesthood at Soun-ji in Hakone and later held hostage by Takeda Shingen of the Takeda clan as part of a three-way alliance between the Hojo, Takeda, and Imagawa clans formed in 1554. In 1569, he was adopted by his uncle Hojo Genan and married Genan's daughter.
In 1569, as part of an alliance between the Hojo and Uesugi clans, Saburo was sent to Uesugi Kenshin as a hostage. Initially, Hojo Ujimasa's third son Kunimasumaru was to be the hostage, but Ujimasa, unable to part with his baby son, sent Saburo instead. Kenshin, who never married, took a liking to the handsome and intelligent Saburo. Kenshin married his niece Seienin to Saburo, gave him the name Kagetora, and adopted him into the Uesugi clan.
When Kenshin died suddenly in 1578 without naming an heir, Kagetora and Kagekatsu, who had also been adopted by Kenshin, fought for succession in what became known as the Otate no Ran. Initially, Kagetora had the upper hand with support from Uesugi vassals and the Hojo clan, but the tide turned when Takeda Katsuyori betrayed him and sided with Kagekatsu.
After Otate Castle fell in 1579, Kagetora attempted to flee to Odawara Castle, the Hojo stronghold, but was betrayed at Samegao Castle by Horie Munechika and committed suicide. Seienin, his wife, also committed suicide, although some accounts suggest she did so at Otate when her brother Kagekatsu refused Kagetora's surrender. Kagetora's eldest son, Doumanmaru, was killed by Kagekatsu's troops along with Uesugi Norimasa, and the rest of Kagetora's children are believed to have died during the power struggle.
Kagetora was considered by some to be a better heir for Kenshin due to his intelligence and assistance in battles, while Kagekatsu was known for gaining support within the Uesugi clan.
A modern-day reincarnation of Kagetora appears in the light novel and anime series "Mirage of Blaze." In this series, he is one of the two primary characters, members of the Uesugi Netherworld Force, responsible for exorcising undead soldiers from the Japanese Feudal Era who are participating in a modern-day war led by reincarnations of various feudal era warlords, including the spirit of Takeda Shingen.
See also
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Tsutsui Sadatsugu
Tsutsui Sadatsugu (June 6, 1562 – April 2, 1615) was a prominent figure in the Sengoku and early Edo periods, known as the cousin and adopted heir of Tsutsui Junkei, the feudal lord of Yamato Province. Following Junkei's death in 1584, Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated Sadatsugu to Iga Province, where he oversaw the construction of Iga Ueno Castle, marking the height of his prominence.
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Matsudaira Kiyoyasu
Matsudaira Kiyoyasu (September 28, 1511 – November 29, 1535) served as the 7th lord of the Matsudaira clan during Japan's tumultuous Sengoku period. Renowned as the paternal grandfather of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Japan's "great unifiers," Kiyoyasu expanded his clan’s influence, bringing all of northern Mikawa Province under his control after subduing the Saigo clan. His power was further symbolized by the construction of Okazaki Castle, a testament to the Matsudaira’s growing dominance.
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Matsudaira Hirotada
Matsudaira Hirotada (June 9, 1526 – April 3, 1549) was a daimyo and lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa Province during Japan’s turbulent Sengoku Period. He is best known as the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
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Ikeda Tsuneoki
Ikeda Tsuneoki (1536 – May 18, 1584), also known as Ikeda Nobuteru, was a prominent daimyo of the Ikeda clan and a distinguished military commander during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He served under the influential warlords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Tsuneoki’s connection to Nobunaga began early, as his mother, Yotokuin, was Nobunaga’s wet nurse and later became a concubine to Oda Nobuhide, Nobunaga's father.
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Oda Nobutaka
Oda Nobutaka (1558–1583) was a samurai of the Oda clan, also known as Kanbe Nobutaka after being adopted as the head of the Kanbe clan, which governed the central region of Ise Province. He was the third son of Oda Nobunaga, born to a concubine named Sakashi. Nobutaka was referred to as "San Shichi," possibly because he was born on the seventh day of the third month in the Japanese lunar calendar. However, there is a theory suggesting he was born twenty days earlier than his elder brother, Oda Nobukatsu, but due to delays in reporting and the low status of his mother’s family, he was acknowledged as Nobunaga’s third son.
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Yamauchi Kazutoyo
Yamauchi Kazutoyo (also spelled Yamanouchi; 1545/1546? – November 1, 1605) was a prominent samurai and retainer who served Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. His father, Yamauchi Moritoyo, was a descendant of Fujiwara no Hidesato and a senior retainer of the Iwakura Oda clan, which opposed Oda Nobunaga. Moritoyo was also the lord of Kuroda Castle in Owari Province. Kazutoyo is especially renowned for his marriage to Yamauchi Chiyo, whose wisdom and resourcefulness played a key role in his rise to prominence.
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Saito Tatsuoki
Saito Tatsuoki (6 September 1548 - 1573) was a daimyo of Mino Province during Japan's Sengoku period and the third-generation lord of the Saito clan. He was the son of Saito Yoshitatsu and grandson of Saito Dosan. His mother was a daughter of Azai Hisamasa, making him a nephew of Azai Nagamasa and a relative of Oda Nobunaga's first wife, Nohime, who was also a daughter of Saito Dosan.
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Kyogoku Tadataka
Kyogoku Tadataka (1593–1637) was a Japanese nobleman and the head of the Kyogoku clan during the early 17th century, a pivotal time marked by the Tokugawa consolidation of power. His childhood name was Kumamaro, and he hailed from a lineage claiming descent from Emperor Uda (868–897). Tadataka was the son of Kyogoku Takatsugu and one of his concubines, with his paternal grandfather being Kyogoku Takayoshi.
