murmurYonezawa Uesugi Festival
Yonezawa City · Around Uesugi Shrine and Denkoku-no-Mori, central Yonezawa, and the Matsukawa riverbank (Kawanakajima battle)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Uesugi Festival Executive Committee (Yonezawa Tourism Convention Association) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Apr 29 – May 3, 2026 （Ended） May 3: warrior procession from 10:40, Kawanakajima battle from 14:00
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late April
- How the date is set
- Every year, April 29 – May 3 Opens April 29; Butei-shiki rite on the evening of May 2; warrior procession and Kawanakajima battle on May 3
- Venue
- Around Uesugi Shrine and Denkoku-no-Mori, central Yonezawa, and the Matsukawa riverbank (Kawanakajima battle)
- City
- Yonezawa City, Yamagata
About
Yonezawa's biggest spring event grows out of the annual festivals of Uesugi Shrine, dedicated to the clan's founder Uesugi Kenshin, and Matsugasaki Shrine, which honors later lords such as Uesugi Yozan and Uesugi Kagekatsu and the retainer Naoe Kanetsugu. It opens on April 29 with crowds of dancers in bright costumes parading beneath the cherry blossoms. On the evening of May 2, the Butei-shiki, the ritual Kenshin performed before every battle, is re-enacted by bonfire light. The finale on May 3 brings an armored warrior procession and portable shrines through the city center, then, in the afternoon, some 700 warriors restage the 1561 Battle of Kawanakajima between the Uesugi and Takeda armies on the Matsukawa riverbank.
Sources
- OfficialUesugi Festival Executive Committee (Yonezawa Tourism Convention Association) uesugi.yonezawa-matsuri.jp
- OfficialUesugi Festival Executive Committee uesugi.yonezawa-matsuri.jp
- Referenceイベントスケジュール｜米沢上杉まつり uesugi.yonezawa-matsuri.jp
- Reference【重要】2026年米沢上杉まつり 駐車場のご案内 uesugi.yonezawa-matsuri.jp
Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.