Fortune lies in heaven. Armor lies in the heart. Achievement lies in the legs.

運は天にあり、鎧は胸にあり、手柄は足にあり。

Uesugi Kenshin

Military Strategists

Uesugi Kenshin

The 'Dragon of Echigo' — a Sengoku-era warlord whose devotion to righteous warfare and Buddhist faith made him Japan's most paradoxical military figure (1530-1578). Uesugi Kenshin fought not for territorial expansion but for justice and honor, yet his battlefield genius made him perhaps the finest tactical commander of his age.

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Source: 上杉家文書Unverified

Uesugi Kenshin's Other Quotes

In Shingen's art of war, it is said one should value the later victory. That may be so, but I value the first victory.

I fight my enemies with swords, not with salt.

I stand on the battlefield as an incarnation of Bishamonten.

Related Quotes

Those lacking the spirit of independence inevitably depend on others, and those who depend on others inevitably fear them.

-- Fukuzawa Yukichi

This man might be the one to seize the realm.

-- Kuroda Yoshitaka

The greatest warrior in Japan.

-- Sanada Yukimura

In war, a victory of sixty percent is the best. Total victory breeds complacency.

-- Takeda Shingen

I do not mind hardship — only let it be hardship that matters.

-- Takasugi Shinsaku

Making this uninteresting world interesting.

-- Takasugi Shinsaku