Travel Uesugi Clan Mausoleum

The Uesugi Clan Mausoleum (上杉家廟所 Uesugi Gobyōsho), also known as Yonezawa Domain Uesugi clan cemetery (米沢藩主上杉家墓所 Yonezawa-han-shu Uesugi-ke bosho), is the last resting place of the Uesugi family, the feudal lords of Yonezawa Domain. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1984 and contains the graves of thirteen generations of Uesugi, from Kagekatu, Kenshin's adopted son, to Mochinori, the last daimyō of Yonezawa.


The current Uesugi family mausoleum is located west of the Yonezawa Castle ruins. Initially, this site was established as a temporary location for Kenshin's tomb. When Kagekatsu passed away in 1623, he was buried at the present mausoleum, and from then on, successive lords up to the 13th generation were also laid to rest there. After the Meiji government issued the castle abolition order in 1871, Yonezawa Castle was dismantled, and Kenshin's coffin was relocated to the cemetery.


Today, Kenshin's mausoleum stands at the centre, flanked by the tombs of successive daimyō. From the second daimyō, Kagekatsu, to the eighth, Shigenari, cremation burials were performed, and their mausoleum buildings were constructed in the irimoya-zukuri style (入母屋造, a hip-and-gable roof structure). From the ninth daimyō, Harunori, to the twelfth, Narinori, burials were conducted by inhumation, with their mausoleums built in the hōgyō-zukuri style (宝形造, a square pyramidal roof). Due to Harunori's sumptuary edicts, the structures became more simplified, and the materials were of lower quality.


Although not a domain lord, Akitaka (顕孝) — the biological son of Harunori and his adopted heir — is also enshrined here. After the Meiji era , from the eleventh daimyō, Narisada, the family graves were moved to Kōzen-ji Temple in Shirokane, Minato-ku in Tōkyō. However, a monument for the thirteenth daimyō, Mochinori, was erected alongside the historical lords' mausoleums by volunteers from Okinawa to recognise his achievements as the governor of Okinawa. Locally, the mausoleum is also called "Otamaya" (御霊屋).


Even after his death, Uesugi Kenshin remained a crucial spiritual figure for his clan. His remains, clad in armour, were placed in an earthen jar, which was poured with lacquer to harden it. When Uesugi Kagekatsu moved from Echigo to Aizu, Kenshin's coffin was transported from Fushikian (不識庵) at Kasugayama Castle, along with the surrounding soil. Later, during the Uesugi family's relocations from Echigo to Aizu and eventually to Yonezawa, Kenshin's coffin was carefully carried and guarded by chosen monks and retainers. The family built a mausoleum on a hill in the inner citadel of Yonezawa Castle. Kenshin's coffin was placed in the centre, with a statue of Amida Buddha from Zenkoji Temple (善光寺) and Doroashibishamonten (泥足毘沙門天) on either side, facing west.


After that, by order of Uesugi Kagekatsu, the Nohkeshu of Shingon Buddhist temples, like Daijōji (大乗寺) and Hōonji (法音寺), performed daily memorial services. This was strictly followed until the Meiji era. Successive heads of the Uesugi family also visited the temple to hold memorial services on the anniversary of his death. Kenshin was a devoted Shingon Buddhist sect during his lifetime and was given the rank of Gon Daisōzu (権大僧都). It is said that Kenshin's remains were interred at Mount Koya and that there are only partial remains in Yonezawa.


In the Meiji era, Kenshin's tomb was moved from the Honmaru of Yonezawa Castle to the Uesugi family mausoleum, and the statues of Zenkōji Buddha and Bishamonten were moved to Hōonji. The original burial hall was relocated to Chōmei-ji Temple (長命寺) in Yonezawa, where it serves as Hondō (本堂) to this day.


The following Yonezawa daimyō have grave sites at the mausoleum:



The grave sites were built alternately on the left and right sides of Kagekatsu's mausoleum. A worship hall was constructed in front of the mausoleum. The approach to each mausoleum also extended further forward than it is now, and it is said that more than a thousand stone lanterns were donated and lined up around it. Kenshin's remains were moved from Echigo Kasugayama to Aizu and then to Yonezawa, enshrined in the Honmaru of Yonezawa Castle.


In 1876, Kenshin's remains were relocated to this site. As a result, the worship hall and stone lanterns were removed, and the approach to the shrine was rebuilt, resulting in the current layout. The mausolea of successive feudal lords, neatly lined up among the cedar groves, tell the history of the Uesugi family and Yonezawa. In 1984, it was registered as a National Historic Site, becoming Japan's fifth daimyō gravesite.