2026-07-11 Journey to Yonezawa Castle: The History of the Uesugi Clan and the Spirit of Tenchijin#

On the evening of July 10th, we experienced a highly standard massage, after which my wife and I fell into a deep sleep.

On the morning of the 11th, I woke up to find it pitch black all around, so I went straight to the bathroom to wash up. When I finished and opened my computer, what? It was already 9:05! It turned out the hotel’s blackout curtains were too good! I hurriedly woke my wife up. Never mind delaying the subsequent itinerary, the hotel breakfast ended at 9:30. If we didn’t hurry, we probably wouldn’t even get to eat breakfast.

The original plan was to take a local train to Yonezawa, but because of this little interlude, there were no suitable local trains within a reasonable timeframe. As a result, we rebooked a limited express train (since our JR Pass had expired, an additional fee was required), which finally solved our transportation problem.

It was already past 11, nearly 12 o’clock, when we arrived at Yonezawa Station. Realizing there wasn’t much time left, we gave up the idea of walking and took a taxi directly to Yonezawa Castle.

Yonezawa Castle#

As mentioned in the previous article about the Yamagata trip, this journey made me deeply reflect on Japanese history and culture over the past few centuries. Coming to Yonezawa, everything evokes people’s imagination of Japan’s Sengoku period. Allow me to briefly explain.

During the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Uesugi clan, as deeply trusted senior vassals, was granted a vast territory of 1.2 million koku in Aizu, reaching the pinnacle of a retainer’s status. However, after Hideyoshi’s death, the world changed hands, and Tokugawa Ieyasu rapidly rose to power. Uesugi retainer Naoe Kanetsugu harshly denounced Ieyasu’s ambitions with the famous “Naoe Letter,” which directly ignited the Battle of Sekigahara that would determine the ruler of the realm. Ultimately, the anti-Tokugawa faction was defeated, and the Uesugi clan faced a severe crisis of domain extinction.

After the war, Uesugi Kagekatsu and Naoe Kanetsugu, in order to preserve their family and retainers, personally went to Kyoto through mediation to apologize and plead for mercy from Tokugawa Ieyasu. Although Ieyasu did not completely annihilate them, he handed down a cruel punishment: the Uesugi clan was demoted to the remote and barren Yonezawa, and their territory was drastically shrunk to a mere 300,000 koku.

Faced with the desperate situation of a three-quarters drop in income, the Uesugi lord and retainers adhered to “Giri” (duty and loyalty) and refused to dismiss any retainers who originally received high stipends. To solve the survival problem of the massive population, Naoe Kanetsugu launched comprehensive flood control and agricultural reforms in Yonezawa. Samurai even became part-time farmers and warriors, personally going to the fields to reclaim wasteland. This will of the lord and retainers to share joys and sorrows eventually successfully led everyone through the difficulties, laying a solid foundation for the Yonezawa domain’s 270-year reign.

We visited the castle ruins, stone statues, and the “Denkoku no Mori” (Yonezawa City Uesugi Museum / Okitama Cultural Hall), which deepened our feelings about this history. The quality of the museum’s exhibits is quite good, especially their spirit of striving for self-improvement in adversity, which is very worthy of modern reflection. As for the development of the Yamagata region around World War II, it will be discussed in another article.

This statue depicts the first lord of the Yonezawa domain, Uesugi Kagekatsu, and his retainer (administrator).

This lord and retainer are connected by a strong bond, governing the territory with the spirit of “Righteousness” and “Love,” laying the solid foundation for the Yonezawa domain’s 270 years of rule. To this day, the citizens of Yonezawa still hold deep respect for these two ancestors.

Under the chaotic domestic political situation of that time, the two embraced an unyielding will towards the future. On their way to take up their posts in Yonezawa, the lord and retainer discussed together how to build a new town.

“Tenchijin” (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity) directly echoes the 2009 Japanese NHK Taiga drama “Tenchijin” of the same name. This drama features Naoe Kanetsugu as the protagonist, deeply portraying the relationship between him and Uesugi Kagekatsu, and how they upheld “Righteousness” and “Love” in troubled times.

As we were preparing to leave the Uesugi Museum, we found a crowd gathering outside. It turned out that three samurai dressed in traditional Japanese costumes were performing. Besides dances waving katana swords, they also interacted with the audience. We don’t understand Japanese, so we didn’t know the content, but the audience was very engaged. Later, we even saw a large audience following the three samurai in a parade.

We chose a small restaurant to settle our lunch. As vegetarians, the famous Yonezawa beef was naturally out of our reach, but we still enjoyed highly local rice crackers, and the wild vegetable soba noodles were also very delicious.

After lunch, we took a taxi back to the train station and caught the train to Kaminoyama Onsen. To be continued in the next article.