Kanetsugu Naoe

Kanetsugu Naoe (直江 兼続) is one of the new characters in Samurai Warriors 2. He is a retainer of the Uesugi clan serving both Kenshin Uesugi and his successor Kagekatsu Uesugi, 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
In Samurai Warriors 2, Kanetsugu is a firm believer in honor and justice. His ideals inspire some, such as Mitsunari, and disgust others like Masamune Date, who tells Kanetsugu that there is no honor in leading men to die, and the two form a rivalry of sorts.

At Odawara Castle, he meets Mitsunari Ishida and Yukimura Sanada, and the three swear an oath of friendship. With his friends, he hopes to build a Japan committed to his personal values. After the death of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the three form the Western Army to support the Toyotomi clan's heir, Hideyori Toyotomi. Kanetsugu aids the effort by attacking Ieyasu Tokugawa from the east, while Mitsunari attacks from the west.

Warriors Orochi
In Warriors Orochi 2, Kanetsugu Naoe is first seen at the Battle of Hasedo. As Shingen Takeda and Sakon Shima discuss their next move, Yukimura Sanada scouts that his friend, Kanetsugu is under attack from Sun Wukong. Seeing an opportunity to use saving Kanetsugu into an audience with Lord Kenshin Uesugi. Together, Yukimura and Sakon with the help of Zhang Jiao fight to Kanetsugu Naoe and rescue him from the attack. When they reach him, however, enemy sorcerers have started a fire in the forest and the mystic Fu Xi comes to thier aid. They eventually overcome Sun Wukong and rescue Kanetsugu, ensuring an audience with Lord Kenshin. After saving his beloved officer, Kenshin agrees to join Sakon and his attempt to prevent the awakening of Orochi.

At the Battle of Chang Ban, Sakon sends Lord Shingen to speak to Masamune to get him to see the error of his ways and turn away from Da Ji and Orochi. This is harder than it may seem because the enemy strategist is the brilliant Sima Yi. Sima Yi uses the Date gunmen to destroy the Takeda Calvary. In response, Shingen asks a volunteer to circle around the enemy by way of sea and set fire to the gunpowder, there by destroying the enemy's guns. Kanetsugu quickly volunteers and fights his way through enemy generals, including Keiji Maeda to reach the boat. When he lands, he sets the fire attack and Shingen releases the Reserve Calvary. When Sima Yi is captured, he is impressed with Shingen's brilliance and even joins Sakon's cause. In the end, however, they were unable to convince Masamune to leave Da Ji.

In one of the game's dream modes, he teams up with Nagamasa Azai 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. He also appears as a minor enemy in Kessen III. He is one of Kenshin's closest generals and continues to antagonize Nobunaga after his lord's death. His characteristic "love" helmet can be found as an item in 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.

Voice Actors

 * Alex Eberts - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Masaya Takatsuka - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (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."
 * "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

Historical Information
Higuchi Yoroku was the eldest son of Higuchi Kanemoto, an influential vassal of Uesugi Kenshin's father, Nagao Masakage. His mother was Sento-In, who is speculated to be Kenshin's half-sister. 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). He was said to be a diligent and respectable worker at Kenshin's home, Kasugayama Castle. He was quickly known as a talented yet polite youth and earned the respect of some of Kenshin's rivals.

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. Though Kanetsugu canceled plans to adopt the latter, they continued to be friends.

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).