2024 Yonezawa Uesugi Festival

In Yonezawa City, the traditional event “Uesugi Festival” is held from April 29 to May 3 every year.

This Uesugi Festival is the spring of “Uesugi Shrine” that enshrines Kenshin Uesugi, the founder of the Uesugi family of the Yonezawa Domain and revered as a god of war, and “Matsumisaki Shrine” that enshrines Takayama Uesugi, Kagekatsu Uesugi, who were praised as a great lord by rebuilding the impoverished clan, and Kanetsugu Naoe, who was a senior vassal of Kagekatsu. It’s a big festival.

Starting with the opening festival on April 29, the Takeshi ceremony on May 2nd, the Uesugi procession and the Battle of Kawanakajima on May 3rd, and during the exhibition, the gorgeousness of the Sengoku period will be revived to the present day.

<Buteishiki>

It reproduces the ceremony of going to the front, which is said to have been done by Kenshin Uesugi to pray for victory.

Prior to this, the army who came in armor visited the Uesugi family mausoleum and reported that they would go to the battle to the spirit of Lord Kenshin.

In the dusk when the bonfire burns, the Gotensui ceremony and the war god transfer ceremony will be held solemnly.

<Uesugi army procession>

A powerful parade where an armor procession of about 500 people parades through the city.

Every year, it is an ordinary man who is selected at the audition to play Kenshin Uesugi, who leads decorative tars and mounted warriors with dignity.

Including the procession of drums and whistle squads and historical characters of Yonezawa by elementary school students in the city, the line is a total of hundreds of people.

<The Battle of Kawanakajima>

After passing through the main street in the city, the Uesugi corps procession goes to the battle venue on the Matsukawa (Mogami River) riverbed.

Here, we reproduce the one-on-one battle of Kawanakajima in 1561, in which Kenshin Uesugi and Shingen Takeda fought to the death.

The beginning of the decisive battle is announced by the volley of matchlock guns, and the battle scene where hundreds of people from both armies are mixed up is a masterpiece.

During the period, many street stalls are lined up in the city area and the Matsukawa riverbed, and the Battle of Kawanakajima attracts as many as 80,000 spectators every year, and it will be exciting as a major spring event in Yonezawa.

2024 Event Schedule (planned)

4/29 (holiday, Monday) Opening Festival / Around Denkoku no Mori

9:00- Opening ceremony

9:30- Stage event

10:00～Uesugi Shrine Annual Festival

11:15~ Folk dance nagashi (traditional Yonezawa new style and Hanagasa Ondo alternate parade)

13:00- Stage Event

4/30 (Tuesday) 10:00- Matsumisaki Shrine Annual Festival

The enshrined deities of Matsumisaki Shrine include Uesugi Takayama and Uesugi Kagekatsu, Kagekatsu’s senior vassal Naoe Kanetsugu, Takayama’s master Hosoi Hirasu, Takemata Totsuna and Yoshimasa Usado, who assisted Takayama.

5/2 (Thursday) Takeshishiki

16:30 – Takeshi-style army procession [Uesugi family mausoleum → Uesugi Shrine]

18:30- Takeshiki/Tenkoku no Morimae Square

It is a ceremony of Uesugi Kenshin’s departure to pray for victory.

5/3 (Congratulations, Friday) Uesugi Corps Procession

9:30- Mikoshi Togyo / Start location undecided

Uesugi Shrine Mikoshi and the city’s elementary school drum and flute squad parade.

10:20- Uesugi Corps Procession / Start in front of Kojo Elementary School

Let’s go to Kawanakajima! The warrior procession parades majestically around the city.

14:00- Battle of Kawanakajima/Matsukawa riverbed

The clash of Uesugi and Takeda! It reproduces the biggest fight to the death in the history of the Warring States.

About event schedule, access, and parking lot

☟Click here for details

Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture “Yonezawa Uesugi Festival” official website

Venue: Matsugasaki Park area, Matsukawa riverbed, whole city

Phone 0238-22-9607 Yonezawa Tourism and Convention Association Office