Naoe Kanetsugu

Naoe Kanetsugu
Naoe Kanetsugu
Uesugi clan elder
Preceded by	Naoe Nobutsuna
Personal details
Born	1559 Sakato Castle, Echigo Province
Died	January 23, 1620
Nationality	Japanese
Spouse(s)	Naoe Osen

Naoe Kanetsugu (直江 兼続^?, 1559 – January 23, 1620) was a Japanese samurai of the 16th–17th centuries. The eldest son of Higuchi Kanetoyo, Kanetsugu was famed for his service to two generations of the Uesugi daimyōs. He was also known by his court title, Yamashiro no Kami (山城守) or his childhood name, Higuchi Kanetsugu (樋口 兼続^?).

Kanetsugu served first as a koshō (小姓) to Uesugi Kenshin. After Kenshin had died, he served Kagekatsu, the adopted son of Kenshin. Kanetsugu's brother, Ōkuni Sanehiro, was also a famous Uesugi retainer.

Kanetsugu was born Yoroku (与六^?), at Sakato Castle in Echigo Province. His father, Higuchi Sōemon Kanetoyo, was a senior retainer of Nagao Masakage, the lord of Sakato Castle. When Yoroku came of age he married his first cousin Osen from his maternal side, the widow of Uesugi retainer Naoe Nobutsuna, and took the Naoe family name in order to become head of the family line since Osen did not have any children from the previous marriage nor have any male heir available to succeed the family. He became an Uesugi councilor at the age of 22, quickly distinguished himself as an outstanding commander, and was involved in much of the fighting that took place on the Sea of Japan coast with Sassa Narimasa and Maeda Toshiie. Kanetsugu was also responsible for the actions of the Uesugi clan against the allies of the Tokugawa during the lead-up to the climactic Battle of Sekigahara. Following the Uesugi clan's surrender to the Tokugawa, in 1601, their holdings were transferred to the much smaller fief of Yonezawa, with an income of 300,000 koku. Kanetsugu was granted a stipend shortly before he retired.

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