Nagao Kagetora (長尾 景虎, February 18, 1530 – April 19, 1578), later known as Uesugi Kenshin (上杉 謙信), 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 as the “Dragon of Echigo”, while chiefly remembered for his prowess on the battlefield as a military genius and war hero, Kenshin is also regarded as an extremely skillful administrator who fostered the growth of local industries and trade, as his rule saw a marked rise in the standard of living of Echigo. Kenshin is famed for his honourable conduct, his military expertise, a long-standing rivalry with Takeda Shingen, his numerous defensive campaigns to restore order in the Kantō region as the Kanto Kanrei, and his belief in the Buddhist god of war Bishamonten. Many of his followers and others believed him to be the avatar of Bishamonten and called Kenshin the “God of War”.
Alias Uesugi Kenshin (上杉 謙信), Dragon of Echigo, “God of War”
First Appearance Historical figure (b. 1530 – d. 1578)
First Publisher ○
Appearance List Kōyō Gunkan, 3 vols. (1965 ed.; chronicle compiled c.1616) by Kōsaka Masanobu; Fūrin Kazan (1958) by Yasushi Inoue; A History of Japan, 1334–1615 (1961) by George B. Sansom; Ten to Chi to (天と地と, 1962; bunko 1966) by Chōgorō Kaionji — serialized 1960–62 in Shūkan Asahi, basis for NHK Taiga (1969); The Samurai: A Military History (1977) by Stephen R. Turnbull, Samurai Armies 1550–1615 (1979) by Stephen Turnbull. Film: Fuefuki River (美しき笛の川, 1960) by Keisuke Kinoshita, Samurai Banners (風林火山, 1969) by Hiroshi Inagaki.
Sample Read Heaven and Earth (天と地と, Ten to Chi to, 1990) [Internet Archive]
Description Nagao Kagetora (長尾 景虎, February 18, 1530 – April 19, 1578), later known as Uesugi Kenshin (上杉 謙信), 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 as the “Dragon of Echigo”, while chiefly remembered for his prowess on the battlefield as a military genius and war hero, Kenshin is also regarded as an extremely skillful administrator who fostered the growth of local industries and trade, as his rule saw a marked rise in the standard of living of Echigo. Kenshin is famed for his honourable conduct, his military expertise, a long-standing rivalry with Takeda Shingen, his numerous defensive campaigns to restore order in the Kantō region as the Kanto Kanrei, and his belief in the Buddhist god of war Bishamonten. Many of his followers and others believed him to be the avatar of Bishamonten and called Kenshin the “God of War”.
