* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Uesugi Ujinori (Zenshū)
上杉氏憲（禅秀）
Kantō Kanrei and Head of the Inukake Uesugi — Leader of the Uesugi Zenshū Rebellion Against the Kamakura Kubō
Description
Life
Uesugi Ujinori, known by his Buddhist name Zenshū, was born as the son of Uesugi Tomomune, head of the Inukake branch of the Uesugi clan; his birth year is unknown. In 1404, when Date Masamune (a Date clan head of the Nanboku-chō to Muromachi period, distinct from the later Sengoku daimyo of the same name) raised arms after refusing a demand from the Kamakura Kubō to cede territory, Ujinori led the forces of the Kamakura Government to suppress the uprising. He succeeded to the headship of the Inukake Uesugi house in 1409, and in 1411 was appointed Kantō Kanrei (Deputy of the Kantō region), serving as guardian to the young Kamakura Kubō, Ashikaga Mochiuji.
Conflict with Mochiuji
Relations between Zenshū and Mochiuji gradually deteriorated. Beyond personal friction between the two men, the rivalry between the Inukake and Yamanouchi branches of the Uesugi clan, as well as the ambitions of Mochiuji's uncle Ashikaga Mitsutaka, are said to have been factors. In 1415, Zenshū was removed from his post as Kantō Kanrei, provoking deep resentment.
The Uesugi Zenshū Rebellion
In the tenth month of 1416, Zenshū rallied Ashikaga Mitsutaka and local warrior bands and raised an army, launching a surprise attack on Mochiuji. Mochiuji fled to Suruga Province, and Zenshū's forces briefly occupied Kamakura. However, the Muromachi shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi decided to send reinforcements to Mochiuji, dispatching shogunate forces under Imagawa Norimasa and Uesugi Fusakata. In the first month of 1417, Zenshū, Mitsutaka, and Mochinaka took their own lives at a temple hall in Yukinoshita, Kamakura, bringing the rebellion to an end.
Later Reputation
The Uesugi Zenshū Rebellion is known for exposing the underlying conflict between the Kamakura Government and the various branches of the Uesugi clan in the Kantō region. While the rebellion led to the downfall of the Inukake Uesugi house, the grudges it left behind are considered to have fed into the later Eikyō War and Yūki War, marking one of the starting points of a prolonged period of conflict in the Kantō region.