Seienin (清円院) was a Japanese noble woman from the

Nagao clan was a Japanese samurai clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Nagao," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 39 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Nagao clan descend fro ...

during the tumultuous Sengoku period. She is perhaps best known as the formal second wife of

Uesugi Kagetora was the seventh son of Hōjō Ujiyasu; known as Hōjō Saburō, he was adopted by Uesugi Kenshin, and was meant to be Kenshin's heir. However, in 1578, he was attacked in his castle at Otate by Uesugi Kagekatsu—Kagetora's respective brother-i ...

, also referred to as Kakeiin, and as the niece of the famed

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as , was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (magnate). He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period ...

. She was the daughter of

Aya-Gozen was a Japanese noblewoman from the Sengoku period. She was the half-sister of Japanese warlord Uesugi Kenshin. She was also the mother of Uesugi Kagekatsu and the first wife of Nagao Masakage. Aya is best known for her role in events before and ...

and sister of

Uesugi Kagekatsu was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the adopted son of Uesugi Kenshin and Uesugi Kagetora’s brother in law. Early life and rise Kagekatsu was the son of Nagao Masakage, the head of the Ueda Naga ...

Biography

Seienin was born in 1556 as the eldest daughter of Nagao Masakage and his formal wife, Sentōin. Her family included two brothers, Yoshikage and Akikatsu (later known as Uesugi Kagekatsu), and a younger sister named Hana.

Marriage to Uesugi Kagetora

In 1570, a significant alliance was forged between her uncle, Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province, and Hōjō Ujimasa of Sagami Province, led by Ujimasa's seventh son, Saburō. Saburō was adopted by Kenshin and took the name Uesugi Kagetora. Seienin was subsequently married to Kagetora, and in the following year, she gave birth to their eldest son, Uesugi Dōmanmaru.

The Otate Conflict

The year 1578 brought about a challenging period for Seienin and her family with the passing of Kenshin. This event triggered a succession struggle within the Uesugi family, pitting Kagetora against Seienin's own brother, Uesugi Kagekatsu, in what is famously known as the Otate Conflict. During this tumultuous time, Seienin fled

Kasugayama Castle is a Sengoku period ''yamashiro''-style Japanese castle located in the Nakayashiki neighborhood of the city of Jōetsu, Niigata prefecture. It was the primary fortress of the warlord Uesugi Kenshin, and was originally built and ruled by the Nag ...

, which was under the control of Uesugi Kagetora, and sought refuge in the Otate, a residence located below Kasugayama Castle. This residence, initially built for the Kantō-kanrei (deputy shōgun of the Kantō), had also been used by Kenshin for political matters. Tragically, due to an attack by forces loyal to Kagekatsu, the residence was eventually overrun. Kagetora, aiming to end his own life, managed to escape from the residence. However, Seienin, despite warnings from Kagekatsu to surrender, chose to take her own life within the residence. Historical records suggest that her date of death occurred on 24 March. There is a strong possibility that she died alongside Kagetora at Samegao Castle, located near Kasugayama and controlled by the Uesugi, along the only route leading to the Kantō region.江戸期の軍記物の影響で、以前は長尾政景の次女で上杉景勝の妹とされていたが、近年は政景の長女で景勝の姉というのが定説とされる。

Legacy

Today, at the Meigetsu Temple in Kamakura, there stands a Buddhist mortuary tablet bearing the name of Seienin, serving as a lasting testament to her presence and the tumultuous times in which she lived.

References

{{Authority control 1556 births 1579 deaths 16th-century Japanese women Women of the Sengoku period Uesugi clan Japanese Buddhist clergy 16th-century Japanese nobility