Nagao Kageharu

Nagao Kageharu came from the Shirai Nagao family, retainers of the Yamanouchi Uesugi, and was the son of Nagao Kagenobu. Born in 1443, he is said to have died on the 24th day of the 8th month of Eishō 11 (1514), at the age of 72 according to the Sōrinji Denki.

The rebellion

In 1475 he shut himself in Hachigata Castle in Musashi and rose in arms in June 1476. He defeated the army of Uesugi Akisada at the Ikakko camp, and again at the Battle of Ikakko in January 1477, driving Akisada back into Kozuke. Allied with Toshima Yasutsune, Chiba Takatane and others, he spread the fighting from Sagami to Shimosa.

Fighting Ota Dokan

When Ota Dokan, steward of the Ogigayatsu Uesugi, invaded Musashi, Kageharu lost battle after battle. He kept resisting with the backing of Ashikaga Shigeuji, but in 1478 Dokan's scheme brought about a peace between the Uesugi and Shigeuji, and Kageharu lost his support. Hachigata fell and he fled into the Chichibu mountains; in June 1480 his last stronghold, Hino Castle, was taken and he was driven out of Musashi.

Later years

He took refuge with Shigeuji, received the court post of Saemon-no-jo and served as a go-between. After Dokan's death he fought for Uesugi Sadamasa at Sugaya-hara and Takami-hara in the Chokyo conflict, and around then became a monk under the name Kiyusai Igen. In 1494 he clashed with his heir Kagehide, who favoured peace, and lost the headship. He submitted to Akisada in 1505 and rose again in 1510 while Akisada was campaigning in Echigo, but failed to retake Shirai Castle. He then lived in exile in Tsuru District of Kai and later under the Imagawa in Suruga, and is thought to have died away from home.

Legacy

His decades of revolt greatly weakened Uesugi power in the Kanto. Hojo Soun is said to have praised him as a brave man of skill and strategy. He is the subject of Ito Jun's 2012 novel Hanki.