was a Japanese samurai of the 16th–17th centuries. The eldest son of Higuchi Kanetoyo, Kanetsugu was famed for his service to two generations of the Uesugi daimyōs. He was also known by his court title, Yamashiro no Kami (山城守) or his childhood name, . Kanetsugu served first as a koshō (小姓) to Uesugi Kenshin. After Kenshin had died, he served Kagekatsu, the adopted son of Kenshin. Kanetsugu's brother, Ōkuni Sanehiro, was also a famous Uesugi retainer. Biography Kanetsugu was born , at Sakato Castle in Echigo Province. His father, Higuchi Sōemon Kanetoyo, was a senior retainer of Nagao Masakage, the lord of Sakato Castle. When Yoroku came of age he married his first cousin Osen from his maternal side, the widow of Uesugi retainer Naoe Nobutsuna, and took the Naoe family name in order to become head of the family line since Osen did not have any children from the previous marriage nor have any male heir available to succeed the family. Kanetsugu became an Uesugi councilor at the age of 22, quickly distinguished himself as an outstanding commander, he fought at Battle of Tedorigawa and was involved in much of the fighting that took place on the Sea of Japan coast against Sassa Narimasa and Maeda Toshiie. In 1590, he fought in the Odawara Campaign at Hachiōji Castle. In 1600, Kanetsugu was also responsible for the actions of the Uesugi clan against the allies of the Tokugawa during the lead-up to the climactic Battle of Sekigahara. Following the Uesugi clan's surrender to the Tokugawa, in 1601, their holdings were transferred to the much smaller fief of Yonezawa, with an income of 300,000 koku. Kanetsugu was granted a stipend shortly before he retired. After death Following his death, his wife Lady Osen (お船), per the custom at the time, took the tonsure, cutting her hair short and becoming a Buddhist nun. She was renamed Lady Teishin-ni (貞心尼). Teishin-ni helped rear the young Uesugi heir, Uesugi Sadakatsu, eventually dying in 1637 at the age of 81. Personality Naoe Kanetsugu was respected for his judgment. In "The Life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi," Walter and M.E. Dening recount an anecdote in which Hideyoshi, whose temporary unification of Japan paved the way for Ieyasu's shogunate, decides to visit Uesugi Kagekatsu, Kanetsugu's liege lord at the time, in person, accompanied by just a few retainers. On receipt of the news, Kagekatsu called a council to discuss