Yoshikiyo Murakami (1501-1573) was the daimyo of the Murakami clan and a retainer of the Uesugi clan, counted among the "Twenty-Eight Generals of the Uesugi Clan". He fought at the center of the Uesugi army during the Battle of Kawanakajima in 1561, fighting against the traditional rivals of the Murakami, the Takeda clan of Kai to the south.
Biography[]
Yoshikiyo Murakami was born in 1501 in Matsumoto, Shinano Province (now part of Japan's Nagano Prefecture). He was born to the Murakami clan, the daimyos of Shinano Province who ruled the province from Matsumoto Castle. Yoshikiyo became the new lord of Shinano upon the death of his father and had an alliance with the Uesugi clan of Echigo Province to the north, and he fought against the Takeda clan of Nobutora Takeda of Kai Province to the south.
In 1545, Yoshikiyo Murakami ordered an invasion of the Takeda lands, but this army was defeated at the Battle of Kofu by the Takeda general Nobushige Takeda, brother of daimyo Shingen Takeda. Shortly after this defeat, the Murakami castle at Matsumoto was captured by the Takeda and the Murakami clan were destroyed. Yoshikiyo became a general and retainer of Kenshin Uesugi, the lord of Echigo, and was counted among the "Twenty-Eight Generals of the Uesugi". He commanded the central division of the Uesugi Army at the Battle of Kawanakajima in 1561, fighting against the army of Shingen. The inconclusive battle led to both sides claiming victory. Yoshikiyo died in 1573.