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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Oda Nobutada
Oda Nobutada (1557 – June 21, 1582) was a samurai and the eldest son of Oda Nobunaga, known for his active role in several battles during Japan's Sengoku period. He led armies under his father's command in campaigns against Matsunaga Hisahide and the Takeda clan.
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Imagawa Ujizane
Imagawa Ujizane (1538 – January 27, 1615) was a Japanese daimyō who lived through the Sengoku and early Edo periods. He became the tenth head of the Imagawa clan, following in the footsteps of his father, Imagawa Yoshimoto. Ujizane was the father of Imagawa Norimochi and Shinagawa Takahisa.
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Hojo Ujiyasu
Hojo Ujiyasu (1515 – October 21, 1571), the third head of the Odawara Hojo clan, was a formidable daimyo known as the "Lion of Sagami." Revered as a fearsome samurai and brilliant strategist, he became famous for successfully breaking sieges by renowned warlords Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin. Ujiyasu was the son of Hojo Ujitsuna, and his only known wife was Zuikei-in, sister of Imagawa Yoshimoto. Among his children were Hojo Ujimasa and Uesugi Kagetora.
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Hojo Ujimasa
Hojo Ujimasa (1538 – August 10, 1590) was the fourth leader of the later Hojo clan and the daimyo of Odawara. He continued his father Hojo Ujiyasu's policy of territorial expansion, achieving the largest territorial holdings in the clan's history.
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Hojo Ujinao
Hojo Ujinao (1562 – December 19, 1591) was a Japanese daimyo of the late Sengoku period and the last leader of the Later Hojo clan. An important figure in Azuchi-Momoyama politics, he lost his entire domain following the Siege of Odawara (1590). Despite this, he survived, and his family continued as minor daimyo during the Edo period.
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Takeda Katsuyori
Takeda Katsuyori (1546 – April 3, 1582) was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period, renowned as the head of the Takeda clan and successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was also the son-in-law of Hojo Ujiyasu. Katsuyori was born to Shingen and the daughter of Suwa Yorishige, known posthumously as Suwa-goryonin and by her real name, Koihime. His children included Takeda Nobukatsu and Takeda Katsuchika.
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Yasuke
Yasuke, an African page, arrived in Japan in 1579 as the attendant of the Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano. Before the arrival of the Englishman William Adams, it is thought that Yasuke was possibly the inaugural non-Japanese samurai, arriving about twenty years earlier.
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Yamanami Keisuke
Yamanami Keisuke, the second in command of the Shinsengumi, a special police force during the late Edo period, shocked many when he performed seppuku on March 20, 1865, at the age of 32.
