Uesugi Kenshin: The Dragon of Echigo (Japanese History Explained)

ruler of the Etsuko province in the Sengoku era of japan you asougi Kenshin is remembered today for his prowess on the battlefield as well as his administrative skills which served to grow local industries and trade making for significant rise in the standard of living for achievers civilians he would become greatly interested in Bishan wanton one of the gods of war in Japanese mythology and many would see him as the living embodiment of the deity Kenshin is also referred to as the dragon of Ichigo because it was devastating skills in martial arts which he would often demonstrate on the battlefield as he cut through his foes this is in contrast to his legendary rival together Shingen who was known as the tiger of Chi in some versions of Chinese mythology the dragon and tiger have always been bitter enemies who tried to defeat one another but never is able to achieve this goal if Kenshin and Shingen showed great interest in Chinese culture and were likely aware of the mythology probably seen themselves as the embodiment of both dragon and tiger both men would encounter each other several times at the Battle of Kiwanuka kijima but more on that later on Kenshin was born kagetora and was even the third or fourth son of the notable warrior nagatomi cog a it was during a hostile time where cogito had gained renown through military victories for his clan however it was around this time also that the warrior monks known as the eco Ikki grew in political power and the region of Ichigo began to shift in favor of them seeking to quell the eco uprising Kenshin's father gathered up an army and march to intercept them however he himself was suddenly slain in battle and so led to a race between his sons to take his place in the ngahiraka GAE the oldest son would make a bid for control and succeed in his claim Kenshin however was removed from the conflict and relocated to rinse ng temple where he spent the next seven years until he was 14 studying martial arts and Zen when he was 14 Kenshin was contacted by his father's old acquaintances and urged him to go back to Ichigo and contest his brothers rule it would seem that Haruka was not an effective leader though this was likely due to having poor health it said that at first Kenshin did not wish to go to war against his own brother but was eventually convinced that if he did not then the province of Ichigo would crumble under her akagi's rule a year later when he was 15 he was placed in joint command of Tokyo Castle where he made a reputation for himself by defending it against rebels who were plotting against the asougi by 1548 Kenshin was successful in taking control away from his brother and was soon leader of the clan himself though unlike the Brother killing we're used to seeing in the Sengoku era Kenshin spared his brother's life being unwilling to kill him in the first place her ACOG he recognized his younger brothers potential and so stepped down on his own accord handing over all titles and authority the Hokage would actually die just five years later in 1553 by 19 years of age Kenshin will set to star his rule of the heo province but due to his youth much of the province remained independent of his authority seeking to cement his power Kenshin agreed to take us to be naughty Massa the daimyo of the clan who'd been forced to flee there due to the expansion of the Hojo clan who'd given his men a good beating Kenshin agreed to give Nadi masa shelter but only under the condition that he was granted the official title as the lord of a chiba but this condition would only take Kenshin so far he would become recognized as one of the true leaders of the illusory clan but he was still shortened yes of the Etsuko province of being their leader furthermore there was a more pressing matter at hand that presented itself in the form of two Lords of the shenana province who were in dire need of help these two Lords brought some terrifying information to the attention of OOOs sube kinship there was a powerful warlord out there who was taking over territory dominating armies with his expertise and advancing on his enemies with a larger-than-life force his name was - Kara Shingen and he was coming pretty close to the Etsuko province what took place in the years after was an explosive rivalry one that many considered to be legendary in their first conflict Kenshin and Shingen were very cautious when encountering one another and only committed to small amounts of pressure on the other in minor skirmishes but over the years these skirmishes would grow more violent and in the end there would be a total of five engagements between the two at the famous Battle of Karnataka Jima 15:53 to 1564 it wasn't until the fourth battle that Kenshin and Shingen actually faced one another Kenshin had proved to be a crafty warlord and was able to apply a tactic that nearly put the shingon forces to its knees the soldiers in the front line of Kenshin's army would switch for the ones in the rear allowing for them to take a break while the more rested soldiers from the rear who were eager for action were brought forward Jared missed engagement a famous fight it's often remembered in Japanese history took place where Kenshin rode up to Shingen on the battlefield and slashed to him with his sword Shingen fended off the blows of his signature iron dwarf and the encounter couldn't have lasted more than a minute before Kenshin was driven off by shingen's men Shingen was able to assemble his forces for a counter-attack against Kenshin and was able to drive Kenshin into retreat the window of the battle though still remains undecided as the number of losses on both sides were said to not be enough to defeat Eva army Kenshin might have withdrawn but he did not surrender the land in which they battled on many scholars consider it to be a draw once again looking back to Chinese mythology with the Dragon and the tiger fight for eternity neither one of them ever defeating the other scholars also consider this to have been the biggest battle of the Sengoku era in an interesting sidenote shingen's chi province was at one point denied salt by the Hojo who had boycotted the supplies when Kenshin heard of this problem he actually sent shingen salt from his own province stating that he did not wish to fight with salt but with the sword such respect for Shingen is pretty evident later on as well when Shingen originally died it said that Kenshin privately wept for him stating that he had lost a good rival and that he would not have the opportunity to fight another hero like him Kenshin would actually have a few upward Winchester his conflict with Shingen he would lead 5,000 men to pay homage to the Shogunate in Kyoto elevating his reputation as a cultured leader as well as a warlord he will also begin to advance in the Hojo clan under the encouragement of Asuka newly muscled who he protected from the Hojo clan earlier on Kenshin was successful in taking a number of castles from them he would later shown interest in the etsu province in the West and would spend a considerable amount of his life involved in the politics their two feuding clans known as the Jinbo clan and the shin jerk land inhabited the SU province and were feuding for ownership over it Kenshin sought to mediate the conflict in the early 1500s but he later sided with the Schinder clan to absorb the Jimbo clan decades later though Kenshin actually turned on the Shinto clan taking their main casa for himself in 1575 he also had their leader assassinated giving him full control over the heo province in 1576 Kenshin began to consider the big elephant in a single era room of course I'm referring to other Nobunaga who'd become Japan's most powerful warlord of the time we're both Shingen and the Hojo clan out of the picture Kenshin was no longer blocked in temple of expansion he was quick to take over the Moto province when the Lord's air died and this put him in a good position to threaten Nobunaga and his allies Nobunaga noticed the threat almost immediately and watched 50,000 troops to meet Kenshin Kenshin was only able to muster up 30,000 troops having created an alliance with the warrior monks of the eco Ikki as well as forming an unexpected alliance with the Shingen plan under Takeda son katsuyori despite overwhelming differences in numbers Kenshin was able to score a victory on the field repelling Nobunaga's forces he then pretended to move a small unit to attack Nobunaga's forces from behind seeking to bait Nobunaga's men into believing that this was in fact a full-blown assault taking the bait Nobunaga defeated the small unit with ease and by nightfall had moved on to attack what he believed what was left of Kenshin's army expecting to find a weakened state of Kenshin's army Nobunaga was shocked to find the full force of Kenshin's men ready and waiting furthermore Kenshin also opened up the floodgates submerging the terrain in water and rendering it useless for Nobunaga's cannons horses and various siege engines repulsed by the current and compromised terrain Nobunaga ordered a retreat it just goes to show how sharp you Asuka Kenshin was that he was able to outsmart Oda Nobunaga of all people and despite the smaller force was able to send the log into a tree a feat not many can claim to have done interestingly enough the tactic in which Kinnison used to bait Nobunaga was actually a tactic quite commonly used by Takeda Shingen in October 1577 Kenshin who was now pretty confident in facing Nobunaga having already outsmart him once was putting together a grand army katsuyori was now backing Kenshin and so tiger and dragon now stood on the same side and truly a force to be reckoned with although on the way to battle in 1578 Kenshin was held up by bad weather and died of cancer the cause of his death however has since been disputed throughout the years the fairy that is generally accepted is that his health had deteriorated over time and that this had been documented long before his actual death Kenshin was said to commonly complain about pain in the chest and they had problems with his stomach in the days leading up to his death another theory is that Kenshin was assassinated by a ninja possibly employed by Nobunaga himself this ninja has said to have been waiting in the cesspool beneath the Lateran at Kenshin's camp with his short spear or sword it does seem unlikely though that this was the case as in a poem that was penned by Kenshin he seems to be aware that his death is imminent however it could also be the case that the ninja if he did exist fatally wounded Kenshin even though he was already dying his death poem read even a lifelong prosperity is but one cup of sake a life of 49 years is passed in a dream I know not what life is more death year in year out all but a dream both heaven and hell are left behind I stand in the moonlit born free from the clouds of attachment thanks for watching guys as always don't forget to like the video and hit the subscribe button I'll see you in the next one until the next time [Music]

Channel: The Legends of History

Views: 81,713

Keywords: Uesugi Kenshin, Legends of History, Do samurai still exist?, Are samurai Japanese or Chinese?, What is the name for female samurai?, When did the era of the samurai end and why?, Is last samurai based on a true story?, who was the last samurai in real life?, Are there still samurai in Japan?, When did the last samurai die?, who was the first samurai?, did japan have a civil war?

Id: WycDI2_0YfQ

Length: 12min 26sec (746 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 09 2018