Nagao Harukage
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Nagao Harukage (長尾晴景? 1509 - March 23, 1553) was the final ruling head over the clan of Nagao within the latter Sengoku Period of Feudal Japan. Initially receiving the title of Lord of Echigo and Head of Nagao, at the period in which he succeeded his respective father--Tamekage--during the 1540's, following a struggle of power against the presently deceased Kageyasu, Harukage became the governor over all of Echigo, but met civil war as a means of internal tension between the powerful kokujin retainer families that supported him. According to repute, it is known that Harukage was a man of both physical weakeness and sickly stature, allowing himself to be easily influenced by his retainers, and additionally providing others an opportuntity on employing their own individual aspirations. By means of such circumstances, Harukage's younger brother, Kagetora--the future Uesugi Kenshin--was encouraged by retainers of Nagao to take the throne for himself, even though Kagetora was greatly unwilling to go to such means, considering that he was secluded in priesthood and possessed no true means of power. But as the province was relatively torn apart by Harukage's poor competency of leadership, Kagetora had little choice but to cooperate with this high demand, assaulting and seizing Niiyama castle from the hands of one of Harukage's head retainers--Kuroda Hidetada--in 1546. Kagetora then followed by taking control over Nagao by 1547, forcing his elder brother from headship, and thus creating the powerful clan of Uesugi. Harukage had little choice but to obviously accept this change in circumstance, dying in the year of 1553 most conjectively by means of his dominant sickness.
[edit] References
- Nagao Harukage - SamuraiWiki. (Samurai Archives) FWSeal & CEWest, 2005
