Uesugi clan

The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries). At its height, the clan had three main branches: the Ōgigayatsu, Inukake, and Yamanouchi. Its most well-known member is the warlord Uesugi Kenshin (1530–1578). who was a daijō-daijin during the 9th century.

Kanjūji Shigefusa was a 13th generation descendant of the clan's great progenitor and the originator of the clan's name. Near the end of the 13th century, he received the Uesugi domain in Tango Province and adopted the name "Uesugi" after arriving and establishing himself there.

Meiji period and modern era

thumb|158x158px|[[Uesugi Mochinori]]

The Meiji Restoration in 1868 brought the abolition of the han system, that is, the end of the domains, the feudal lords, and the samurai class. During this period, the head of the clan was Uesugi Mochinori. While the han system ended, the Uesugi clan survives to this day. Its present head, Uesugi Kuninori (born 1942), is a professor at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Ministry of Education.

Crests and banners

The clan crest of the Uesugi was two flying sparrows in bamboo.

Uesugi Kenshin had several personal standards: the first character in Bishamonten (毘, bi), a flag of divine appointment, an open fan horse insignia, and the suspended and chaotically written dragon character (龍).

Notable members and retainers

Members

Uesugi Shigefusa (13th century)
Uesugi Norifusa (died 1355)
Uesugi Shigeyoshi (died 1349)
Uesugi Akiyoshi (died 1351)
Uesugi Yoshinori (died 1378)
Uesugi Noriharu (died 1379)
Uesugi Norikata (1335–1394)
Uesugi Norimoto (1383–1418)
Uesugi Norizane (1410–1466)
Uesugi Kiyokata (died 1442)
Uesugi Fusaaki (1432–1466)
Uesugi Noritada (1433–1454)
Uesugi Akisada (1454–1510)
Uesugi Tomooki (1488–1537)
Uesugi Norimasa (1522–1579)
Uesugi Tomosada (1525–1546)
Uesugi Kenshin (1530–1578)
Uesugi Kagetora (1552–1579)
Uesugi Kagekatsu (1555–1623)
Uesugi Harunori (1751–1822)

Retainers

Amakasu Kagemochi
Ayukawa Kiyonaga
Honjō Shigenaga
Honjō Saneyori
Honjō Hidetsuna
Irobe Katsunaga
Jōjō Masashige
Kakizaki Kageie
Kawada Nagachika
Kitajō Takahiro
Kitajō Kagehiro
Kojima Motoshige
Kojima Yatarō
Maeda Toshimasu
Murakami Yoshikiyo
Nakajō Fujikasuke
Nakajō Kageyasu
Naoe Kagetsuna
Naoe Kanetsugu
Ōkuma Tomohide
Saitō Tomonobu
Sanponji Sadanaga
Shibata Naganori
Shibata Shigeie
Suda Mitsuchika
Kojima Motoshige
Suibara Takaie
Takemata Yoshitsuna
Usami Sadamitsu
Yamayoshi Toyomori
Yasuda Akimoto
Yasuda Nagahide
Yoshie Kagesuke

Castles

thumb|An Uesugi shrine

Kasugayama Castle
Tochio Castle: Honjō Saneyori
Sakado Castle: Nagao Masakage
Kitajō Castle: Kitajō Takahiro
Yoita Castle: Naoe Kanetsugu
Moto-Yoita Castle: Naoe Kanetsugu
Nechi Castle: Murakami Yoshikiyo
Akada castle: Saito Tomonobu
Masagata Castle: Amakasu Kagemochi
Jōjō Castle: Jōjō Masashige
Kakizaki Castle: Kakizaki Kageie
Yasuda Castle: Yasuda Nagahide

Notes

References

Appert, Georges and H. Kinoshita. (1888). Ancien Japon. Tokyo: Imprimerie Kokubunsha.
Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999). Japan's Kaiserhof in de Edo-Zeit: Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867. Münster: Tagenbuch.
Papinot, Edmund. (1906) Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du japon. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha.
Ravinia, Mark. (1995). "State-Building and Political Economy in Early-Modern Japan", Journal of Asian Studies. 54.4.
Sansom, George Bailey. (1961). A History of Japan: 1334–1615. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
__________. (1963). A History of Japan: 1615–1867. Stanford: Stanford University Press.