Uesugi clan The was a Japanese samurai clan , descended from the Fujiwara clan and particularly notable for their power in the Muromachi and Sengoku period s ( roughly 14th through 17th centuries ) . The clan was split into three branch families , the Ōgigayatsu , Inukake and Yamanouchi Uesugi , which boasted considerable influence . The Uesugi are perhaps best known for Uesugi Kenshin ( 1530 - 1578 ) , one of Sengoku ' s more prominent warlords . The family name is sometimes rendered as Uyesugi , but this is representative of historical kana usage ; the " ye " spelling is no longer used in Japanese . In the Edo period , the Uesugi were identified as one of the " tozama " or outsider clans , in contrast with the " fudai " or insider daimyō clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan . Located at . Tamba Province ( Echigo during the Azuchi - Momoyama period ) Served . Toyotomi , Tokugawa Crest ( s ) / Banners . Two flying swallows in bamboo Nagao clan ' s crest : nine suns with three tomoe Kenshin ' s standard : the first character in Bishamonten ( 毘 , bi ) Kenshin ' s standard : the flag of divine appointment Kenshin ' s standard : open fan horse insignia Kenshin ' s standard : the suspended and chaotically written dragon character ( 龍 ) Talents . Warrior clan ( prized swords and cavalry during Kenshin and Kagekatsu ' s time ) Major Figures . Norizane , Kenshin , Kagekatsu , Kagetora , Harunori , Kuninori . Uesugi clan branches . The clan claims descent from Fujiwara no Yoshikado , who was one of the " Daijō daijin " during the 9th century . Kanjūji Shigefusa was a 13th generation descendant of the clan ' s great progenitor . Near the end of the 13th century , he received Uesugi domain in Tango province , and he adopted the name of " Uesugi " after arriving and establishing himself . The three main branches of the Uesugi are the Inukake , the Yamanouchi and the Ōgigayatsu . Muromachi period . The mother of the Shōgun Ashikaga Takauji ( 1305 - 1358 ) was a daughter of Uesugi Yorishige and a granddaughter of Shigefusa . The three Uesugi branch families are descendants of Uesugi Yorishige . Throughout the Muromachi period , members of the clan were appointed " shugo " ( provincial governors ) , and would also dominate the post of Kantō Kanrei ( shogun ' s deputy in Kantō ) . They gained such power in the Kantō region that , when in 1449 Kanrei killed his deputy Uesugi Noritada to significantly diminish if not eliminate the family ' s power , the Uesugi rose up and drove Shigeuji out of the area , asking the shogunate in Kyoto for another Kanrei . This development left the Uesugi extremely powerful within the Kantō region , more so than ever before , and the clan quickly expanded and grew , splitting into three branches , named after their home localities . The Ōgigayatsu became based at Kawagoe Castle , in Musashi province , while the Yamanouchi were in Hirai , in Kozuke province . The third branch , the Inukake , held a castle in the region as well . The three would begin fighting for domination of the clan and the region almost as soon as the split occurred , and intense fighting continued for roughly twenty - five years , until the end of the Ōnin War came about in 1477 , bringing with it the end of the shogunate . Though the Ōgigayatsu and Yamanouchi branches both survived this conflict , the Inukake did not . Sengoku period . Traditionally the Ōgigayatsu relied on the Ōta clan , while the Yamanouchi relied on the Nagao of Echigo Province as the pillars of their strength . Ōta Dōkan , a vassal of the Ōgigayatsu Uesugi , who were less numerous than their Yamanouchi cousins , lent them a great boost of power by building Edo castle for them in the 1450s . On the other hand , Nagao Tamekage , Deputy Constable of Kamakura in the first decades of the 16th century , allied himself with Hōjō Sōun , who would later become one of the Uesugi ' s strongest rivals . The expansion of the Hōjō into the lower Kantō forced the two branches of the Uesugi to become allies . In 1537 , Kawagoe fell to Hōjō Ujitsuna . Then in 1545 , both of the branches of the Uesugi shared defeat , and attempted to regain their power . However , the Ōgigayatsu branch family came to an end with the death of Uesugi Tomosada , during a failed attempt to retake Kawagoe castle that year . Uesugi Norimasa , the holder of Hirai castle , which had fallen in 1551 to the Hōjō , took up arms with his retainer , Nagao Kagetora in Echigo . Kagetora then adopted the surname of " Uesugi " after campaigning against the Hōjō in Sagami Province ; he would later take the name Uesugi Kenshin , and become one of Sengoku ' s most famous generals , battling the Hōjō and Takeda Shingen for control of the Kantō . At the end of the Sengoku period , Kenshin ' s adopted son Uesugi Kagekatsu , then head of the clan , was a supporter of Ishida Mitsunari during the battle of Sekigahara . As a result of being on the losing side of the conflict , the Uesugi were afterwards much reduced in power . Edo period . Uesugi Kagekatsu was given the " tozama " domain of Yonezawa ( 300 , 000 " koku " ) in Dewa province , in Honshū ' s Tōhoku ( Northeast ) Region . Much research has been done on the economics of Yonezawa in the Edo period , particularly by Mark Ravina among others , and it is taken as fairly representative of a " tozama " ( outsider ) domain . Yonezawa was far from the capital , with far less direct political control from the shogunate , and also less trade and urbanization . Yonezawa was largely an agricultural domain , making it again a good representation of agricultural and social developments among the peasantry in this period . Despite agricultural advances and generally high growth in the 17th century , Yonezawa , like most parts of the country , experienced a considerable drop in growth after 1700 ; it may in fact have entered stagnation or decline . The official " koku " revenue of the Uesugi daimyo was cut in half in 1664 , but the clan continued to expend as before , maintaining the same lordly standard of living . Yonezawa , again representative of many other domains , entered debt , and was especially hard - struck by famines in the 1750s . The situation became so bad that in 1767 , daimyo Uesugi Shigesada considered giving the territory back to the shogunate . Instead , he allowed his adopted son Uesugi Harunori to take over as daimyo ; through agricultural and moral reforms , and series of other strict policies , Harunori turned the domain around . In 1830 , less than ten years after Harunori ' s death , the shogunate officially praised Yonezawa as an examplar of good governance . The Meiji Restoration in 1868 brought the abolition of the " han " system , that is , the end of the domains , the feudal lords , and the samurai class . Meiji period and modern era . The head of this clan line was ennobled as a count in the Meiji period . The present head of the clan , Uesugi Kuninori ( born 1943 ) is a professor at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science , Ministry of Education .