was a retainer of Japanese feudal lord Uesugi Fusayoshi, and a daimyà  in his own right, during Japan's Sengoku period. He is perhaps best known as the biological father of Nagao Kagetora, who would be adopted into the Uesugi clan as Uesugi Kenshin, and has become one of the most famous Sengoku-period daimyà Âs.
Tamekage was born as the son of Nagao Yoshikage, the deputy military governor of Echigo Province. His mother came from the Takanashi clan of Shinano.
According to George Bailey Sansom, Nagao Tamekage's career makes him representative of the emergence of the daimyà Âs, and the shift of regional power from the shugo (constables ), governors, and other government officials to independent lords.
Serving as Deputy (shugo-dai) to Fusayoshi, shugo of Echigo Province, Tamekage led his lord's Yamanouchi Uesugi forces to victory against the à Âgigayatsu Uesugi in a series of conflicts from 1500âÂÂ1505. However, one of a number of nari-agari mono (æÂÂãÂÂä¸ÂãÂÂãÂÂè ), or "upstarts" of this period, Tamekage sought to usurp his lord, and battled with Uesugi forces a number of times in the first decade of the 16th century.
In 1506, after Yoshikage was killed in action at the Battle of Hannyano, the Igarashi and Ishida clans of the Chà «etsu area (central part of Echigo) rebelled, but this was pacified before long by Tamekage who had succeeded his father as head of the Echigo-Nagao clan.
He ultimately laid siege to Uesugi Fusayoshi in 1507, at Matsunoyama in Echigo Province, and Fusayoshi was killed. Tamekage then went on to pursue a number of campaigns of his own, gathering territory and power.
In 1510, Tamekage plotted with Jinbo Nagakiyo in an attempt to overtake the Jinbo clan from within, using his status as shugo-dai to bring Nagakiyo to his side. Nagakiyo then brought his brother Jinbo Nagatsuna into the plot, which revolved around overthrowing Jinbo Yoshimune and allying with the Uesugi. The plot stretched longer than a year, and Tamekage's patience grew thin. It is believed that Tamekage "arranged" for correspondence between himself and the brothers to be discovered by an ally of Yoshimune, which would lead to their executions, perhaps a quicker route to weakening the Jinbo than the possibly ill-conceived plot with Nagakiyo. The Jinbo brothers were executed, and the Jinbo weakened.
Tamekage then engaged Uesugi Akisada, and defeated him as well, with the help of Hà Âjà  Sà Âun, another growing power in the region. Within a few years, Nagao and Hà Âjà  brought about the complete collapse of the Uesugi clan.
In 1536, he was reportedly defeated and killed at the Battle of Sendanno against the Ikkà Â-ikki of Kaga Province. However, the Senran-ki records him stepping down in favor of his third son and becoming a monk in 1540.