A city located in Nagano Prefecture founded on May 1, 1919. It merged with the towns of Maruko and Sanada and the village of Takeshi to become the new city of Ueda on March 6, 2006.

Also Known as: Ueno Onshi Kouen (上野恩賜公園)

Ueno Park is a large public park located in Tokyo near Ueno Station. It is famous for its many museums, including the Tokyo National Museum, the Orient Museum, the National Science Museum, the Shitamachi Museum, the National Museum for Western Art and the Tokyo Metropolitan Fine Art Gallery.

Possessed by: Mogami Yoshiaki

Second-in-command of a powerful political faction (the Hirabayashi Group) within the ruling party of the House of Representatives of the Japanese National Diet. Ueshima was involved in a graft case and made a deal with Mogami Yoshiaki to kill the bribe suspects and keep the truth from coming to light. In return, he agreed to allow Mogami Yoshiaki to use his body as spirit vessel.

Also called: Nagao Kiheiji (長尾喜平次), Nagao Akikage (長尾顕景), Nagao Kagekatsu (長尾景勝)

Historically: One of Uesugi Kenshin's nephews, he was adopted by Kenshin and named Kenshin's heir along with Uesugi Kagetora. Following Kenshin's death in 1578, he provoked the feud against Kagetora in the Otate no ran for succession. His forces won over those of Kagetora in 1579, and he forced Kagetora to commit suicide. He lost the Uesugi's western holdings to Oda Nobunaga, and later submitted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, under whom he rose to prominence to become a member of the council of five regents appointed by Hideyoshi to protect the Toyotomi rule.

As a general under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Kagekatsu received the 1.2 million-koku fief of Aizu in addition to his 550,000-koku fief of Echigo. After Toyotmi's death, Kagekatsu was one of the first daimyo to plan revolt against Tokugawa Ieyasu with the building of a new castle in Aizu and the accumulation of troops, and could be said to have least partly begun the Battle of Sekigahara. He refused a summons from Tokugawa to go to the capital to explain himself, and attacked with a 50,000 army, which were held back by Mogami Yoshiaki and Date Masamune. Kagekatsu was defeated early at the siege of his castle at Shiroishi and declared his allegiance to Tokugawa.

Afterwards, Kagekatsu was given the 300,000-koku Yonezawa-han in the Northeast.

Also known as: possibly Houjou Ujihide (北条氏秀), Houjou Saburou (北条三郎), Saburou Kagetora (三郎景虎)

Historically: Uesugi Kagetora was the seventh son (sixth to survive to adulthood) of Houjou Ujiyasu, younger brother of Houjou Ujimasa, Houjou Ujiteru, Houjou Ujikuni, Houjou Ujinori, Houjou Ujitada, and older brother of Houjou Ujimitsu. His mother was the sister-in-law of Tooyama Yasumitsu, a vassal of the Houjou Clan (other sources say Zuikeiin, Ujiyasu's principle wife). It's likely that he and Houjou Ujihide were two different people and that Ujihide was the son of Houjou Tsunashige and living in Edo while Saburou was living in Echigo, so most historians refer to him as Houjou Saburou when describing his early life.

As a child, he was sent into the priesthood at Souun Temple in Hakone, then sent as hostage to Takeda Shingen of the Takeda Clan in the three-way alliance between Houjou, Takeda, and Imagawa formed in 1554 (though this last point is now in dispute, as it is told only in the Records of Ancient Battles of the Eight Kanto Provinces and recorded in none of the Takeda Clan records.)

He was adopted by his uncle Houjou Genan in 1569 and married Genan's daughter.

When the Houjou and Uesugi clans formed an alliance in 1569, Saburou was sent to Uesugi Kenshin in an exchange of hostages with Kakizaki Haruie. (At first, the hostage was set to be Houjou Ujimasa's third son Kunimasumaru, but Ujimasa could not bring himself to send off his son, who was then still a baby.) Saburou was sent to the Uesugi clan in early 1570. Kenshin, who never married, developed a liking for the handsome and intelligent Saburou. He married his niece Seienin, the daughter of Nagao Masakage and older sister of Nagao Akikage (Uesugi Kagekatsu) to Saburou, gave him the name Kagetora (a name that had once belonged to Kenshin himself), and adopted him into the Uesugi Clan.

When Kenshin died suddenly in 1578 without naming an heir, Kagetora and Kagekatsu, similarly adopted by Kenshin, fought for succession to the position of clan head (the Otate no Ran). Though Kagetora held the early advantage with the backing of Uesugi vassals such as Uesugi Kagenobu, Honjou Hidetsuna, Kitajou Takahiro, and the Houjou Clan, the tide of the battle turned with Takeda Katsuyori's betrayal to Kagekatsu's side.

When the Otate fell in 1579, Kagetora attempted to escape to Odawara Castle, but was betrayed at Samegao Castle by Horie Munechika and committed suicide. His wife committed suicide along with him (though there are also accounts that she remained behind at the Otate and committed suicide there when her brother Kagekatsu refused Kagetora's surrender.) His oldest son Doumanmaru died at the hands of Kagekatsu's troops along with Uesugi Norimasa, and the rest of his children were believed to have died along with their parents.

In Mirage of Blaze: He was born to Houjou Ujiyasu and Zuikeiin as their eighth (seventh to survive to adulthood) and youngest son. After his death in the Otate no Ran, he was charged by Uesugi Kenshin to become kanshousha in order to ensure that the peace of Japan is not disrupted by the onshou as the leader of the Yasha-shuu and the commander of the Meikai Uesugi Army.

Title: Kantou Kanrei
Also known as: Fujiwara-no-Norimasa (藤原憲政)

Son of Uesugi Norifusa, he was only three when his father died. His adopted brother, Uesugi Norihiro, succeeded his father as head of the clan. When his brother was banished in 1531, Norimasa inherited the title of Kantou Kanrei.

From 1541 to 1552, he battled both the Houjou and Takeda Clans. He suffered several defeats, and fled to Nagao Kagetora (Uesugi Kenshin) in 1552, leaving his son and heir behind (who was later captured and executed.)

In 1557, he adopted Nagao Kagetora and in 1561 passed the title of Kantou Kanrei to him as well as the Uesugi family name and inheritance.

He later supported Uesugi Kagetora in the Otate no Ran. But as the Kagetora faction was hard-pressed due to Takeda Katsuyori's defection, he took Kagetora's son and heir with him to negotiate with the Kagekatsu faction. However, both were killed by an assassin at Kagekatsu's camp.

His sons were killed as well in the Otate no Ran, so ironically, it would be Uesugi Kenshin's son, Uesugi Kagekatsu, who would sever the bloodline of the Uesugi house.

Uesugi Sadakatsu was Uesugi Kagekatsu's firstborn son and succeeded him as the 18th head of the Yamanouchi Uesugi clan as well as the second governor of Yonezawa-han.

His mother was Kagekatsu's concubine Keiganin, daughter of Yotsutsuji Kintoo.

Uesugi Tomoyoshi was son of Uesugi Tomomasa and adopted by his uncle Uesugi Sadamasa. He was attracted to books and learning, and was enjoined again and again to martial studies by his adopted father.

His adopted father died in battle against Uesugi Akisada in 1494, and Tomoyoshi became head of the Ougigayatsu branch of the Uesugi Clan and master of Kawagoe Castle in Musashi.

Race: Mazoku

The seed syllable of Shoumen Kongou.

Also known as: 小津城, 小戸城

A branch of Matsukura Castle, built in 1335 by the Shiina Clan, the castle was taken over by the Uesugi Clan during the Sengoku. It then became a strategic castle for the Uesugi for control of Ecchuu, and Kawada Nagachika served as its chamberlain for many years. In 1582, the castle was surrounded by Oda troops led by Shibata Katsuie, Sassa Narimasa, Maeda Toshiie, and Sakuma Morimasa. A fierce battle and siege ensued, (the Battle of Uozu Castle), and the castle finally fell when 13 of Uesugi's commanders committed ritual suicide. However, the Oda army immediately withdrew after hearing of the death of Oda Nobunaga at Honnou Temple. In 1583, Sassa Narimasa again laid siege to the castle, and Suda Mitsuchika surrendered to him, ending Uesugi control of the castle.

After Narimasa, the castle passed into the hands of the Maeda Clan, but was destroyed under the "One Province One Castle" decree of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Oomachi Elementary School as well as a courthouse now stand on the former site of the castle, of which very few traces remain.

A coastal city located in Toyama Prefecture, founded in 1952. Its population was around 46,000 in 2005. In the Sengoku Era, the area was controlled by the Uesugi Clan with Uozu Castle as their stronghold.

Uozu is known for three mysterious phenomena: 1) the mirage, which occurs from April to June, during which faraway objects such as ships or the opposite shoreline seem to grow vertically or hang upside-down above them, 2) the firefly squid, which rise to the surface to spawn from the end of March to June and glow with a bluish white light, and 3) the buried forest, a conifer forest buried 2000 years ago such that only their trunks were preserved.

Lit.: "back demon gate"

The southwest corner or direction. According to Onmyoudou, northeast is the unlucky direction from which demons enter (Ki-mon, or demon gate). Its opposing corner, the uraki-mon, is also said to be unlucky.