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==The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima ==

==The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima ==

[[Image:Kenshin_4th_kawanakajima.jpg|thumb|left|Uesugi Kenshin at Fourth Kawanakajima]]

[[Image:Kenshin_4th_kawanakajima.jpg|thumb|left|Uesugi Kenshin at Fourth Kawanakajima]]

After returning from the [[Siege of Odawara|Siege of Odawara castle]], Kenshin, the newly-minted Kanto Kanrei, immediately began planning another campaign, this one aimed at Shinano Province. Takeda Shingen’s northernmost fort was Kaizu, presently garrisoned by [[Kosaka Masanobu]] and a token force of cavalry. Kenshin set out with some 13,00 men under his command, intending apparently to provoke a major battle with Shingen. Here one must pause to consider that our only real source for the course of the following campaign is the Koyo Gunkan, a rambling and at times disjointed record of the Takeda family under Shingen. This was composed by Takeda partisans (Kosaka Masanobu himself is sometimes given as the composer but the actual author appears to have been [[Obata Kagenori]], [[1570]]-[[1644]]) and its accuracy is often dubious. But that having been said, the battle the Koyo Gunkan describes is the one imprinted in the minds of generations of Japanese.  

After returning from the [[Siege of Odawara|Siege of Odawara castle]], Kenshin, the newly-minted Kanto Kanrei, immediately began planning another campaign, this one aimed at Shinano Province. Takeda Shingen’s northernmost fort was Kaizu, presently garrisoned by [[Kosaka Masanobu]] and a token force of cavalry. Kenshin set out with some 13,000 men under his command, intending apparently to provoke a major battle with Shingen. Here one must pause to consider that our only real source for the course of the following campaign is the Koyo Gunkan, a rambling and at times disjointed record of the Takeda family under Shingen. This was composed by Takeda partisans (Kosaka Masanobu himself is sometimes given as the composer but the actual author appears to have been [[Obata Kagenori]], [[1570]]-[[1644]]) and its accuracy is often dubious. But that having been said, the battle the Koyo Gunkan describes is the one imprinted in the minds of generations of Japanese.  

Kenshin might easily have captured Kaizu; instead, he sat down to wait. Kosaka sent off a smoke signal that triggered a chain reaction all the way south to [[Kai province]]. When word reached Shingen of Kenshin’s intrusion, he mustered an army of perhaps 20,000 men and force-marched north. He arrived to find the Uesugi army camped on the top of Saijoyama, a height somewhat west of Kaizu (there is actually a number of Saijoyamas in the Kawanakajima area, prompting some to question whether or not even the traditional setting for these opening moves is accurate). Shingen camped at the Amenomiya Ford for a period of about a week before making his way to Kaizu. Kenshin had made no movement as yet and continued to remain inactive, apparently determined to let Shingen make the first move. The Takeda decided after another week of idleness that a battle would have to be forced, as it was unlikely that Kenshin would leave Kaizu alone if Shingen withdrew without bloodying him.

Kenshin might easily have captured Kaizu; instead, he sat down to wait. Kosaka sent off a smoke signal that triggered a chain reaction all the way south to [[Kai province]]. When word reached Shingen of Kenshin’s intrusion, he mustered an army of perhaps 20,000 men and force-marched north. He arrived to find the Uesugi army camped on the top of Saijoyama, a height somewhat west of Kaizu (there is actually a number of Saijoyamas in the Kawanakajima area, prompting some to question whether or not even the traditional setting for these opening moves is accurate). Shingen camped at the Amenomiya Ford for a period of about a week before making his way to Kaizu. Kenshin had made no movement as yet and continued to remain inactive, apparently determined to let Shingen make the first move. The Takeda decided after another week of idleness that a battle would have to be forced, as it was unlikely that Kenshin would leave Kaizu alone if Shingen withdrew without bloodying him.

Kenshin and Shingen would face each other again, at Kawanakajima ([[1564]]) and in a number of stand-offs in Kozuke as the latter moved to scarf up castles there in the early 1560’s. Yet the enemy who most absorbed Kenshin’s attention for the rest of his life was the Hojo clan. Kenshin evidently took his Kanto-Kanrei title seriously, and resolved to restore the Kanto to the Uesugi. In almost every year of the 1560’s (starting, as mentioned, almost immediately after the [[Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima]]), he raided the Hojo’s lands and fought for various castles in [[Kozuke province|Kozuke]], [[Musashi province|Musashi]], and Shimosa - although without lasting effect. At the same time, the Uesugi came into conflict with the Ashina of [[Mutsu province|Mutsu]].

Kenshin and Shingen would face each other again, at Kawanakajima ([[1564]]) and in a number of stand-offs in Kozuke as the latter moved to scarf up castles there in the early 1560’s. Yet the enemy who most absorbed Kenshin’s attention for the rest of his life was the Hojo clan. Kenshin evidently took his Kanto-Kanrei title seriously, and resolved to restore the Kanto to the Uesugi. In almost every year of the 1560’s (starting, as mentioned, almost immediately after the [[Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima]]), he raided the Hojo’s lands and fought for various castles in [[Kozuke province|Kozuke]], [[Musashi province|Musashi]], and Shimosa - although without lasting effect. At the same time, the Uesugi came into conflict with the Ashina of [[Mutsu province|Mutsu]].

It should be mentioned here that as much as Kenshin may have liked to fight, he also worked hard to increase the economic strength of Echigo. He pursued a number of initiatives designed to stimulate trade, including making the most of Echigo’s lucrative hemp trade, building [[Kasugayama castle]] (which acted as his headquarters and a prosperous castle town) and in [[1564]] revitalizing the seaport of Kashiwazaki. Like many daimyo, Kenshin offered merchants special privileges, including tax reductions, to entice them to do business in his domain.  

It should be mentioned here that as much as Kenshin may have liked to fight, he also worked hard to increase the economic strength of Echigo. He pursued a number of initiatives designed to stimulate trade, including making the most of Echigo’s lucrative hemp trade, building [[Kasugayama castle]] (which acted as his headquarters and a prosperous castle town) and in [[1564]] revitalizing the seaport of Kashiwazaki. Like many daimyo, Kenshin offered merchants special privileges, including tax reductions, to entice them to do business in his domain.

==Kenshin and Nobunaga==

==Kenshin and Nobunaga==