Also known as: Higuchi Kanetsugu (樋口兼続)

Born the eldest son of Higuchi Kanetoyo, Kanetsugu was a chief retainer of Uesugi Kenshin who supported Uesugi Kagekatsu in the Otate no Ran after Kenshin's death. When Naoe Nobutsuna was killed over the question of reward after the intra-house war without an heir, ending the noble Naoe family line, Uesugi Kagekatsu ordered Kanetsugu (22) to marry Naoe Nobutsuna's widow, Osen-no-Kata (25), and take the Naoe family name. The two got along so well that Kanetsugu never took a concubine.

Kanetsugu was famously known to wear the character '愛' (love) on his helmet.