The Uesugi Festival is a spring festival that takes place both at Uesugi Shrine and Matsugasaki Shrine in Yonezawa. This festival marks the coming of spring, and is held from April 29th to May 3rd every year.

Festival highlights include a re-enactment of the Buteishiki (the ceremony held before the Uesugi army marched out to battle), a samurai parade and the “battles of Kawanakajima”, a huge recreation of the historical battle between two famous generals of the Sengoku (Warring States) era - Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen. This recreation takes place on the last day of the festival on the banks of the Matsukawa River.