It is said that his father was Yorishige UESUGI, a descendant of the Northern House of the Fujiwara clan, and his mother was a daughter of the Ashikaga clan, and he was the uncle of Takauji ASHIKAGA, seii taishogun (literally, "great general who subdues the barbarians").
父は藤原北家（ほっけ）の末裔上杉頼重、母は足利氏の娘と言われ、征夷大将軍足利尊氏の叔父とされる。