Kanetsugu Naoe

Kanetsugu Naoe is one of the new characters in Samurai Warriors 2. He is a retainer of the Uesugi clan serving both Kenshin and his successor Kagekatsu, convincing the latter to join forces with the Toyotomi. He is known in history for writing a scathing letter to Ieyasu before Sekigahara. He's symbolized by the kanji for "perceive" (知) and "love" (愛).

Samurai Warriors
Kanetsugu first serves his lord Kenshin in his famous campaigns, Kawanakajima and Tedorigawa. He helps his lord's tactics against his rival and Nobunaga by protecting their allies from danger and executing missions personally given to him. After his lord dies from illness, Kanetsugu joins the western assault on Odawara Castle years later. Whilst walking in the camp, he meets Yukimura and Mitsunari. Tied together by their ideals of honor, the three men form an oath of friendship.

Victorious from the siege, the country is thrown into unrest once more when Hideyoshi dies and Ieyasu stages a rebellion against the Toyotomi family. Insulted by his resistance, Mitsunari and Kanetsugu oppose him. The two friends hoped to trap Ieyasu from two directions and Kanetsugu attacked the Eastern Army from the west. They were steadily victorious until news of Mitsunari's defeat reached their camp. Withdrawing at Hasedo, Kanetsugu ensures his men's safety back to Echigo. During their flight, he defeats one of Ieyasu's powerful allies, Masamune.

Once he hears news of Mitsunari's execution, he was determined to follow his friend into the afterlife. He is stopped by Keiji who reminds him of the trio's desire to create a honorable Japan. Inspired to take revenge for Mitsunari, they quickly ride to Edo Castle and are joined by Yukimura. They take the castle when Ieyasu is away and trump him in a final confrontation. Though Yukimura laments not knowing Mitsunari's whereabouts, Kanetsugu assures him that he will always live on in their hearts.

His dream stage focuses on a "what if?" scenario prior to the Battle of Sekigahara. Wanting to foil the enemy pincer, Ieyasu orders Masamune to attack the Uesugi forces. Staying loyal to his friend, however, Kanetsugu ignores the Date army and heads straight for Ieyasu. Their armies clash at Kawanakajima.

Warriors Orochi
In Warriors Orochi, Kanetsugu is sent to aid Nobunaga when he goes to do battle and recruit the combined forces of Zhang Jiao, Xiao Qiao, Okuni, and Sakon Shima. He returns to Kenshin after Nobunaga is successful, sending Sakon to aid the forces of Wu. He later returns alongside his lord in the battle of Wu Zhang Plains as reinforcements with Shingen and officially joins forces with Nobunaga. He also appears in the third Gaiden stage for Wei accompanying Kenshin's officers when they launch their attack on the imprisoned Wei forces.

In Warriors Orochi 2, he is first seen at the Battle of Hasedo. Yukimura reports to Sakon that his friend is under attack from Sun Wukong. Seeing an opportunity to use Kanetsugu to connect with Kenshin, Yukimura, Sakon, and Zhang Jiao leave to rescue him. They eventually overcome Sun Wukong and Kanetsugu allows them an audience with his lord. Kenshin agrees to join Sakon. Shingen and Kanetsugu later work together at Chang Ban to try to convince Masamune to leave the snake demon's service. To counter the Date rifles, Kanetsugu volunteers to spring a fire attack on the enemy by secretly sailing from the east. Despite their efforts, they were unsuccessful in convincing Masamune.

In one of the game's dream modes, he teams up with Nagamasa and Ma Chao as three heroes of justice, faith, and honor. They work together to save villagers from Sun Wukong and Kiyomori Taira. When their army struggles, Yukimura, Ma Dai, and Yoshikage Asakura arrive to reinforce them. This helps the army's morale and they righteously win the day.

Kessen
Kanetsugu appears up as a minor general named "Nao" in Kessen. He leads a relatively large force to reinforce his lord in battle and will protest if he is ordered to help Masamune. He is also a minor enemy in Kessen III. He is one of Kenshin's closest generals who continues to antagonize Nobunaga after his lord's death. His characteristic "love" helmet can be found as an item on the battlefield.

Development
Kanetsugu was one of the characters who the director felt was needed in the game due to its focus on Sekigahara. Designers explain that his trademark "love" helmet was omitted due to the genre of the series. For an action game, they reason, it's best to have a simple icon to identify each character. Since the players are usually looking at their character's back, they felt that it was more appropriate to place the kanji on his back than front. His helmet was specifically designed to emphasize the kanji. Kanetsugu's overall design was based on Kenshin's revamp, using white as its base color.

Although he doesn't make a unique appearance, his "love" helmet design can be seen when he's a generic in Samurai Warriors. Creators use his name to label that specific general type. A similar design would later be featured for one of his alternate costumes in Warriors Orochi 2.

Personality
Idolizing his lord Kenshin, Kanetsugu is a firm believer in honor and justice. He believes that there is morality found in war and opposes anyone who he deems to be a villain of the era. Out of his friends, he is the more zealous and outspoken one.

He shares an antagonizing relationship with Ieyasu and Masamune. In Ieyasu's case, he openly despises the idea of abandoning honor for the new land. Regarding the younger daimyo, he can't find a justification for Masamune's greed or ambitions. He is also offended by Yoshimoto's meddling at Kawanakajima since he compared his warrior's life to kemari.

Voice Actors

 * Alex Eberts - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Masaya Takatsuka - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Hideo Ishikawa - Kessen III (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "I stand for virtue and honor."
 * "I strike down injustice on behalf of the Heavens!"
 * "I have slain another in the name of justice."
 * "Hey! Over here! Honor, justice, righteousness... and so on."
 * "I thought that honor has abandon me"
 * "My Lord Ieyasu, welcome to the battlefield. Did you get the letter I sent?"
 * "Oh yes, I enjoyed it very much. But it almost didn't reach me... Did you realize that you spelled my name wrong? It's "Ieyasu Tokugawa," not "Villainous Swine Who Will Perish for His Dishonor." Perhaps you can remember that?"
 * Kanetsugu and Ieyasu; Samurai Warriors 2 Empires

Weapons

 * * His ofuda (paper charms) are about 43 cm (1'5") long.

Personal Info
Kanetsugu was praised as a man of unsurpassed loyalty. He never dared to leave his lord's side and shared many of his lord's religious teachings. Rather than follow Bishamonten, however, Kanetsugu chose to follow one of the Buddhist gods of love. It is believed that Kanetsugu took it as his coat of arms to balance out the negative connotations of his lord's intentions. His marriage with his wife is also one of the rare instances of monogamous marriages during the Sengoku period; there are no records of Kanetsugu supporting concubinage. Together, they had six children, three of them being adopted from the Honda clan.

There are three popular stories regarding Kanetsugu's character. During his time ruling Japan, Hideyoshi was so impressed with him that he constantly offered Kanetsugu to either serve him or be one of his adopted sons. Hideyoshi became frustrated when he was refused each time and stated, "This man, Naoe Kanetsugu, punishes the land." When Kanetsugu underwent a brief time in priesthood, the main monk said, "Every person values profit and leaves honor behind. This man abandons profit and grasps for honor." The third account involves one of Kanetsugu's vassals abruptly gaining "authorization" to kill five of his associates. Worried by the sudden disorder, Kanetsugu personally did everything in his power to appease the victims' families and prevent their spirits from being taken to the Lord of Death.

Early Career
Higuchi Yoroku was the eldest son of Higuchi Kanemoto, an influential vassal of Uesugi Kenshin's father, Nagao Masakage. His mother was one of Osaki Shigetomo's daughters. In 1564, Kanetsugu became a page and servant for Kenshin sometime after he adopted his son, Kagekatsu (some stories suggest that he and Kenshin shared a shudō relationship with one another but this has little historical evidence to support it).

When he became of age, he was noticed by Naoe Kagetsuna, a close confidant of Kenshin. Impressed by the young man's abilities, he adopted Yoroku into his family. His name then became Naoe Kanetsugu. He participated in minor administrative duties for the Naoe and Kenshin clans until he was commissioned to be an aide for Kagekatsu three years later. In 1581, Kagetsuna's son, Naoe Kagetaka, and another strategist, Yamazaki Shiyusen, were murdered by Mōri Hidehiro. Through Kanetsugu's persuasion, Kagekatsu ordered the newly widowed Osen no Kata -Kagetaka's wife- to marry Kanetsugu and ensure the future of the Naoe family. He legally became Kagetsuna's son-in-law and the clan's successor.

Kanetsugu continued to serve the Uesgui's administrations but soon went to battle against Shibata Katsuie in 1583. He took advantage of the wetland terrain and forced the Shibata forces to retreat to Niigata Castle in 1586. He then cut off their enemy's water supply, which eventually lead to Katsuie's defeat on November the same year. For his effort, Toyotomi Hideyoshi granted him his family name and, for a time, Kanetsugu carried it. With the new alliance between Hideyoshi and Kagekatsu, he also participated in the siege of Odawara Castle by assisting to overthrow Hachiōji Castle. After they helped stopped a riot at Tsuruga-oka Castle, the Uesugi were allowed to own it and expand their land.

With his steady position in the Toyotomi family, Kanetsugu helped the improvident Echigo and restored order by improving the land's agriculture and giving more rights to farmers. He also encouraged commerce and trade, requesting that the locals grow local ramie for clothing materials (ramie was believed to be preferred over cotton at the time). His efforts helped his land return to peace. He gave Hideyoshi the gold mines in Echigo which promoted him to a magistrate. After a transfer in funds, the Uesugi clan was granted permission to expand their territory near Aizu. This would later be a bridge between the two armies at Sekigahara.

Sekigahara Campaign
In 1598, the tensions between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Ishida Mitsunari were becoming abundantly clear. Daimyo from nearly every sector in Japan were being asked to side with either the Western or Eastern Army. By July 1600, Kagekatsu was already in the midst of fortifying his country's defenses for a battle. Ieyasu noticed this and sent a letter requesting an explanation. His reply didn't come from Kagekatsu but rather from Kanetsugu. The letter was rather cynical, saying that while citified samurai wasted their time drinking tea, country samurai were raising weapons. Kagekatsu also attempted to assassinate one of Ieyasu's messengers, who was believed to be a spy. The reasons for his lord's actions are never truly confirmed, but most historians agree that Kanetsugu most likely advised him to resist Ieyasu. A popular theory is that the Uesugi were already in a secret alliance with Mitsunari but little is written to prove this account.

Not long after this incident, Kagekatsu lead troops to attack Ieyasu. A few weeks after their first attack, Tokugawa allies, Date Masamune and Mogami Yoshiakira, countered them. Though they were temporarily pushed back, the Uesugi army was confident that Mitsunari would support their assault so they continued to attack from Aizu. Kanetsugu lead a siege on Hasedo Castle but was forced to flee once they received news of Mitsunari's defeat. During their escape, Kanetsugu's trusted vassal and friend, Maeda Toshimasu, served as their rear guard. Afterward, the Uesugi clan surrendered, swore loyalty to Ieyasu, and changed their family name to Shigemitsu. In 1601, their holdings were transferred to the much smaller fief of Yonezawa, with an income of 60,000 koku.

Later Years
Kanetsugu continued to oversee flood control near Yonezawa Castle by creating a bank to prevent Mogami River from over flooding, calling his invention "Naoe Stone Levee". He continued to encourage new industrial advancements and commissioned a town to be built near their home. He shared good relations with Tokugawa's generals, Honda Masanobu and Masashige. Masashige married one of Kanetsugu's daughters and adopted his wife's family name.

He won high honors during his participation in the Battle of Shigeno, a part of the Winter Osaka Campaign. Kanetsugu passed away in a local residence in Edo due to illness. He was 60. His son was adopted by Honda Masashige and his accomplishments paved a long and peaceful reign for the Uesugi family.

Trivia

 * Kanetsugu's nickname with Japanese fans is "Squid" (Ika).