His mother was the sister-in-law of Toyama Yasumitsu, a vassal of the Hōjō clan (other sources say Suikeiin, Ujiyasu's principle wife).
He married his niece Seienin, the daughter of Nagao Masakage and older sister of Nagao Akikage (Uesugi Kagekatsu) to Saburō, gave him the name Kagetora (a name that had once belonged to Kenshin himself), and adopted him into the Uesugi clan.
Though Kagetora held the early advantage with the backing of Uesugi vassals such as Uesugi Kagenobu, Hōjō Hidetsuna, Kitajō Takahiro, and the Hōjō clan, the tide of the battle turned with Takeda Katsuyori's betrayal to Kagekatsu's side.
A modern-day reincarnation of Kagetora appears in the light novel and anime series, Mirage of Blaze.
He is one of the two primary characters—members of the Uesugi Netherworld Force—responsible for exorcising undead soldiers from the Japanese Feudal Era, which are taking part in a modern-day war, led by reincarnations of various feudal era warlords, including the spirit of Takeda Shingen.