A Warlord who Fought only for Justice in Wartime

UESUGI Kenshin

In the 16th century when rival warlords were fighting, strong warlords all over Japan had a desire to unify the country and subsequently fought each other. Among them UESUGI Kenshin (1530~1578), a warlord in the Echigo region (present day Niigata prefecture), was skilled at battle and had won almost all of the 70 battles he had fought. However, he had never fought to further his own ambitions including to expand his territory. The pious Shingen hated fighting, but instead made a fortune by creating special clothing using local materials for the market.

Speaking of Kenshin, all Japanese recall the famous “Battle of Kawanakajima.” This conflict started in 1553 when TAKEDA Shingen, a warlord in Kai (present day Yamanashi prefecture) who had ambitions to expand his territory, invaded the northern part of the Shinano region (present day Nagano prefecture) located in south of Kenshin’s territory of Echigo. Kenshin had been asked by the heads of powerful families in Shinano for help. At that time Takeda’s army was considered to be the strongest in Japan. Both fought five times at Kawanakajima (in Shinano), but neither army won the battles.

In this era, besides Kenshin and Shingen, there was another strong warlord. He was ODA Nobunaga, a feudal lord who ruled the small region of Owari (present day Aichi prefecture). With his genius strategy, Nobunaga expanded his territory piece by piece. Nobunaga was afraid of Kenshin who fought in order to maintain peace and order and who was respected by many other warlords. Nobunaga sent presents to Kenshin and formed an alliance with him on the understanding that he would protect the Muromachi shogunate (Kyoto), which Kensin supported and whose power was fading away.

Sending Salt to the Enemy
After that, Nobunaga and Shingen, both of whom were aiming to unify Japan, had a showdown at an area that is now Shizuoka. However, an unexpected ending was to befall them. Shingen died from disease just before the big battle. After defeating Takeda’s army with a new weapon—the firearm—that he possessed in massive numbers, Nobunaga secretly urged Kensin’s subordinates to switch their allegiance and join him. After learning of this, Kenshin became furious and started to attack Oda’s army. Then, both armies came face-to-face near Tedori River (present day Ishikawa prefecture).

Kenshin had his forces attack Nobunaga’s firearm-equipped army on a rainy night when Nobunaga’s men couldn't use their guns, and won a great victory. However, in 1578 while Kenshin was preparing to advance against Nobunaga’s forces, he became ill and died, and fate began to favor Nobunaga. Lots of anecdotes about Kenshin were left behind. One well-known story was that he sent salt to his long-standing enemy Shingen whose territories were far from the sea and were lacking salt. So, “Sending salt to the enemy” became a proverb. It is used even now in situations where “One will help one’s enemy when they are in trouble.”

Before Shingen died, he left his will to his son Katsuyori — “After I die, rely on Kenshin. He has a keen sense of fatherhood, so he will never let you down if he is asked.” On the other hand, when Kenshin heard of the death of Shingen while dining at a table, he dropped his chopsticks and burst into tears, saying “He was a great man.” Furthermore, when his subordinate said, “Now is the best time for us to attack Takeda’s territory,” Kenshin said “It is a shame” and rejected the idea. Kenshin died at the age of 48.

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