Uesugi guides, hints and tips

[Maltz]

(2) Hokuriku's Dragon

This is what Uesugi Kenshin tried to do in history. He made a campaign west, toward the Ikko-Ikki controlled Kaga. Ikko-Ikki, peasant and samurai rebellions who believe in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, is a different branch from Kenshin's "traditional" (Zen) Buddhism.

While Jinbo is very easy to defeat, and Hatekeyama in Noto can be dealt with by Ikko-Ikki or a incited rebellion, the Ikko-Ikki tend to gather a large army rather quickly. Their Loan-Sword ashigaru is a natural predactor of yari ashigaru. But if you go west soon enough the resistance will be much smaller.

The biggest problem of this approach is what happened next. First, you have to convert the Ikko Buddhists back to traditional, which takes quite some time. Your territory is now stretched very thin, and you can easily get attacked by multiple powerful clans at the same time. Even with Echizen and Kaga, you are probably not rich enough to support multiple military campaigns. Your home is likely to be left vulnerable. Frequent wars and slow progress will follow this opener.