上 杉 謙 信(うえすぎけんしん)

うえすぎけんしん

noun (proper)

Uesugi Kenshin (1530-1578), warlord of Echigo province

1. Uesugi Kenshin, Warring States warlord

A daimyo of the 戦国(せんごく) (Warring States) period who ruled Echigo province (today's Niigata). A devout Buddhist who called himself an incarnation of the war god Bishamonten, he is remembered as a brilliant general with a strong sense of honor and as the great rival of 武田信玄(たけだしんげん).

上杉謙信(うえすぎけんしん)は越後(えちご)の武将(ぶしょう)だ。

Uesugi Kenshin was a warlord of Echigo.

謙信(けんしん)は「越後(えちご)の龍(りゅう)」と呼(よ)ばれた。

Kenshin was called "the Dragon of Echigo."

謙信(けんしん)が信玄(しんげん)に塩(しお)を送(おく)ったという話(はなし)から、「敵(てき)に塩(しお)を送(おく)る」という言葉(ことば)が生(う)まれた。

The expression "to send salt to one's enemy" comes from the story that Kenshin sent salt to Shingen.

He is a regional hero in Niigata and appears in historical dramas as the noble counterpart to the shrewd Shingen.

Common expressions

敵(てき)に塩(しお)を送(おく)る: to help one's rival in trouble — from the story that when Shingen's landlocked domain was cut off from salt, Kenshin kept selling it to him
越後(えちご)の龍(りゅう): the Dragon of Echigo, his nickname (Shingen is the Tiger of Kai)
川中島(かわなかじま)の戦(たたか)い: his five battles with Shingen

Cultural note

A famous legend has Kenshin riding alone into Shingen's camp at Kawanakajima and striking at him with a sword while Shingen parried with his war fan.

general

Added 2026.9.26 10:22 · Revised 2026.9.26 10:24

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