Nagao Tamekage

Nagao Tamekage (c. 1486 (Bunmei 18) – the 24th day of the 12th month of Tenbun 10 (20 January 1542)) was a Sengoku-period warrior of Echigo Province and the seventh head of the Echigo Nagao clan. He was the father of Uesugi Kenshin.

In Eishō 3 (1506), when his father, Nagao Yoshikage, was killed in the Battle of Hannyano, Tamekage succeeded to the headship of the family. In Eishō 4 (1507), he raided the residence of the shugo (provincial governor), Uesugi Fusayoshi, forcing him to take his own life, and gained effective control of Echigo. He was later driven out to Etchū for a time by Uesugi Akisada, the Kantō kanrei and elder blood brother of Fusayoshi, who had invaded Echigo to avenge Fusayoshi. However, in Eishō 7 (1510), he succeeded in killing Akisada at the Battle of Nagamorihara. This victory is remembered as a typical example of gekokujō.

He then continued to consolidate his rule while suppressing conflicts within Echigo Province. Through donations to the imperial court and the Muromachi shogunate, he was appointed Shinano-no-kami, and the shogunate granted him a status equivalent to that of a shugo. He devoted himself to obtaining official recognition based on authority. In his later years, rebellions by local lords (kokujin) within the province, including Jōjō Sadanori, occurred in quick succession, and around Tenbun 5 (1536) the headship of the family passed to his eldest son, Nagao Harukage. He died on the 24th day of the 12th month of Tenbun 10 (20 January 1542). Political instability continued under Harukage, and his younger brother Torachiyo (later Uesugi Kenshin) rose to prominence as the successor. It is thought that the era of his father Tamekage, who had survived a turbulent age, had a major influence on the outstanding military talent of Kenshin.