Background
Kenshin Uesugi was born on 18 February 1530 in Echigo Province, Japan. He was the son of Nagao Tamekage, who controlled the province of Echigo.
上杉 謙信
Kenshin Uesugi was born on 18 February 1530 in Echigo Province, Japan. He was the son of Nagao Tamekage, who controlled the province of Echigo.
In 1547 he succeeded his father as heir of the Nagao family and ruler of Echigo. In 1552 the ruler of the Kanto region, Uesugi Norimasa, hard pressed by the forces of the Hdjd family, came to him for assistance, and the following year the ruler of the province of Shinano, Murakami Yoshiharu, also came to him seeking aid. He then joined Uesugi Norimasa in attacking the Hojo, and in conjunction with Murakami Yoshiharu engaged in a series of battles with Takeda Shingen in the region of Kawanakajima in Shinano, though these latter engagements did not end in a clear victory for either side. In 1561 he received from Uesugi Norimasa the name of that distinguished family, changing his name from Nagao Kagetora to Uesugi Masatora, and the following year, when Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru granted him the use of the element teru from his own name, he became Uesugi Terutora.
In 1570 he made peace with the Hojo family.
He became a Buddhist monk with the religious name Kenshin. Hoping to unite the country under a single rule, he set oft'for the capital with a large body of troops, but he fell ill along the way and died without realizing his ambitions.