Uesugi Kenshin and After (Joetsu City) ~ NOV, 2024

Joetsu City has three castles designated as one of the 100 Great Castles and one of the another 100 Greatest Castles in Japan: Takada Castle, which was the main castle of the Takada Domain; Kasugayama Castle, which was the residence of Uesugi Kenshin; and Samegao Castle, where Uesugi Kagetora (the seventh son of Hojo Ujiyasu) committed suicide after being defeated in the Otate Rebellion. Each castle has its own unique features, such as a flat castle surrounded by multiple moats from the Edo period, a huge castle suitable for the ruler of Echigo with a large general structure during the Sengoku period, and a mountain castle from the Middle Ages, but you can also feel the majesty and beauty suitable for governing the fertile Kubiki Plain.

A full-scale castle was Fukushima Castle, built by Hori Hideharu, between Kasugayama Castle and Takada Castle, but a stone monument marking the site of Fukushima Castle stands on the grounds of a now-closed elementary school. In Hideyoshi's later years, Uesugi Kagekatsu became the governor of Aizu with 1.2 million koku of rice, and Hori Hideharu, who came after him, built Fukushima Castle, which replaced Kasugayama Castle, near the port of Naoetsu. It seems to have been a full-scale modern castle, but the Hori family was abolished about ten years after joining the clan, and Ieyasu's sixth son, Tadateru, was given the title of governor of 750,000 koku of rice, including northern Shinshu, and built Takada Castle. Takada Castle bordered the territory of the Maeda family, the largest outside clan, and was probably considered a preparation for a potential enemy country in the future. In fact, the Kaga clan's alternate attendance system went east along the Hokuriku Road, then passed Takada Castle and headed south to the Nakasendo.

It is well-known that Kenshin never married, but some believe that this is merely an episode to deify him. It is true that he had no biological children, and he adopted four children, except for his nephew Kagekatsu, who was from the same clan. The others were Kagetora, the son of Hojo Ujiyasu, Kunikiyo, the son of Murakami Yoshikiyo, who fled to Echigo after being attacked by Takeda Shingen, and Yoshiharu (whose biological father had already been exiled by his retainers), of the Noto Hatakeyama clan, whom Kenshin himself destroyed. The Nagao clan was originally a famous clan of the Kanmu Heishi clan, and after serving as the land steward and retainer of Nagao-sho in Sagami Province, It became the head retainer (chief elder retainer) of the Uesugi clan, who was appointed as the Kanto Kanrei, and exerted his influence as the shugodai (actual governor) of Kozuke and Echigo. During that time, he had multiple marriage relationships with the main branch of the Uesugi clan (the Yamanouchi Uesugi clan), so it was not unnatural for Nagao Kagetora to be adopted by Uesugi Norimasa and take the name Uesugi Kenshin. Kenshin established "Otate" (the residence of Uesugi Norimasa) in the plains near Kasugayama Castle, and after his death, this became the site of a battle for succession.

Of the four adopted sons, his nephew Kagekatsu and Kagetora, who was from the Hojo clan, fought for the Echigo region, but Norimasa supported Kagetora and was killed by Kagekatsu's side, and Kagetora committed suicide at Samegao Castle, as mentioned above, and Kagekatsu inherited Kenshin's estate. At that time, Oda Nobunaga had already taken control of the Kinai region and cornered the Ikkoshu in Kaga, and Takeda Katsuyori's power had already been lost in the Battle of Nagashino three years earlier, so Kagekatsu was busy dealing with Oda's countermeasures until the Honnoji Incident.

The Joetsu area has been the center of Echigo since ancient times, and was home to the provincial capital and Kokubunji temple, but Kenshin rebuilt the dilapidated Kokubunji temple, which remains to this day (Gochi Kokubunji temple). However, the exact location of the Kokubunji temple is still unknown, so we hope that it will be clarified in the near future.

In Joetsu and Shinano, there are many shrines that are derived from "Okuninushi-no-Mikoto" of Izumo, the god of land transfer, but in this area, he married the local Princess Nunagawa, and their child is said to be Takeminakata-no-Mikoto (Suwa Daimyojin). Shrines that worship Okuninushi-no-Mikoto are also famous in Tamba, and it is interesting to wonder how the gods who are thought to have been subordinate to the ancient Yamato Imperial Court moved from Izumo to Tamba to Echigo to Shinano. To the west of Naoetsu, on a mountain jutting out into the sea, there is an ancient temple called Myosei-in, where there is a cave where Takeminakata-no-Mikoto was born. I went to see the statue of Dainichi Nyorai, which is designated as an important cultural property, but I don't know where the clues to ancient history are hiding. There seems to be a book that studies how Takeminakata-no-Mikoto settled in Suwa, so I would like to calmly investigate it.

Rinsenji Temple is the family temple of the Nagao clan, where Kenshin was kept until he came of age. It is located at the foot of Kasugayama Castle, and even today, the temple remains beautiful. Even after the Uesugi clan left for Yonezawa, the Hori clan and subsequent feudal lords continued to protect the temple as their family temple.

In particular, the graves of the head of the Nagao family and Uesugi Kenshin are lined up on the hill to the left of the main hall, and the graves of past feudal lords are lined up, giving a sense of the passage of time. After Tadateru's abdication, Takada Domain saw frequent changes in the head family and hereditary lords of the Echizen Matsudaira family, which was plagued by family disputes. After five generations of the Matsudaira family of Hisamatsu lineage, they moved to Shirakawa, and the Sakakibara family was transferred from Himeji. The Matsudaira family later adopted a son from the Tayasu family, who took the name Matsudaira Sadanobu and played an active role as a senior councilor. During Sadanobu's child's generation, the family was transferred to Kuwana Domain, and along with Aizu, it became the leader of the pro-shogunate faction in 19th century.

Sakakibara Masamine succeeded his brother who died at the early age of 18 as head of the Himeji Domain with a stipend of 150,000 koku, but he is famous for buying Takao Dayu into his family due to his frequent visits to Yoshiwara. It was a time when the "Kyoho Reforms" that emphasized frugality were being promoted, and Shogun Yoshimune was furious, but he could not destroy the Sakakibara family, one of the four great Tokugawa subordinate shogun families, so he ordered the transfer of Masamine to the Takada Domain, which had the same rice stipend but less actual income, and forced Masamine to retire. Even so, I wondered whether it was right that Sakakibara Masamine's grave was more impressive and located on higher ground than Kenshin's. However, Masamine is said to have been good at governing after retirement, while practicing frugality and providing good supervision for his young son.

The plaque on the mountain gate, "The First Principle," is said to have been handwritten by Kenshin himself, and the original is in the Treasure Museum. It represents the truth of all things, and looking up at it made me feel dignified. The Somon Gate that can be seen beyond it seems to have once been located in Kasugayama Castle.