Yanagisawa Shrine
Visit the shrine at Koriyama Castle's former inner keep precinct and see how the Yanagisawa family remains part of the city's story.
Verified site photographs are being prepared.Discover Yanagisawa Shrine
Yanagisawa Shrine stands on the honmaru of Koriyama Castle, beside the keep-base lookout. The city dates the castle’s beginning to 1580 under Tsutsui Junkei; Toyotomi Hidenaga later expanded it into a major stronghold. The Yanagisawa family arrived in 1724, when Yoshiyasu’s son Yoshisato became lord of Koriyama, and six generations governed the domain through the Meiji Restoration. The shrine itself came later: former domain retainers founded it in 1880 to honour Yoshiyasu, a senior adviser to the fifth Tokugawa shogun. The precinct therefore brings together a medieval-to-early-modern castle, an Edo-period ruling family and a Meiji memorial; the shrine is not a surviving Tokugawa-era castle building.
Read the shrine in its castle setting
The shrine is a separate sacred destination within the larger Koriyama Castle historic site. The Nara Prefecture walking guide places it beside the keep base in the castle's centre and describes its main sanctuary as Kasuga-zukuri with a split worship hall. These details distinguish the shrine from surviving castle earthworks and the later lookout structure; the precinct is a memorial place of worship inside the wider historic landscape.
Who Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was
Yoshiyasu rose through service to the fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and became a castle-holding daimyo and senior adviser. His son Yoshisato moved from Kofu to Koriyama in 1724; the Yanagisawa house governed the domain until the end of the shogunate. The city's tourism association traces the local goldfish-breeding tradition to that transfer, but presents the origin as a transmitted account. The shrine's memorial role and Koriyama's goldfish culture are related through this family history, while the town's goldfish breeders remain separate working businesses.
Separate the castle, domain and shrine timelines
The city traces the castle to 1580 and says Toyotomi Hidenaga brought it close to completion. The prefecture dates the Yanagisawa family’s move from Kofu to Koriyama to 1724: Yoshiyasu’s son Yoshisato became lord, and the house ruled through six generations until the end of the domain. Former retainers founded this shrine in 1880 to honour Yoshiyasu himself. Reading those dates together prevents a common mix-up: the shrine memorialises the family’s founder-era figure, but it was built after the feudal domain ended and is separate from the castle’s surviving stonework and reconstructed structures.
A seasonal link to goldfish culture
The city describes Yamato Koriyama's goldfish-appreciation show as an early-April event at Yanagisawa Shrine, timed around the cherry blossoms. The latest dated municipal report located for this guide records the 103rd contest at the shrine's worship-hall forecourt on 29 March 2025; city records show that an earlier centenary edition temporarily used a different venue, so do not assume the location or programme is fixed every year. The contest judges farm-raised fish by features such as body shape, colour and tail form. Check the current Castle Festival announcement for the next date, venue and public viewing arrangements. Goldfish are not displayed or sold here on ordinary days.
Plan a respectful precinct visit
The Yamato Koriyama Tourism Association lists the shrine as freely visitable, with seasonal closing times of 7 pm in summer and 6 pm in winter; during the Castle Festival period it lists 9 pm. These are the association's current visitor details, so check for event-day changes before a late visit. The city explains that the keep-base lookout is reached through the shrine grounds and has its own hours and stairs; those restrictions apply to the lookout, not automatically to the shrine. Keep to public paths, avoid interrupting worship, and ask before photographing ceremonies, worshippers or interior spaces.
What to look for
A distinct shrine stop inside Koriyama Castle's honmaru
Kasuga-zukuri sanctuary and split worship hall noted by Nara Prefecture
A seasonal association with Yamato Koriyama's goldfish culture
Photo notes
No third-party image is licensed for MyNara. Ask the shrine before publication-oriented photography of the sanctuary interior, rituals, staff or worshippers. Do not enter a closed area to obtain a closer image.
SEASONAL CALENDAR
Events connected with Yanagisawa Shrine
These records are shared with MyNara’s event calendar, so dates and notices have one source. Recurring patterns are not confirmed dated editions; check the organizer’s latest guidance.
Yamato-Koriyama Castle Festival
Yamato-Koriyama's main spring festival spreads across the castle ruins and former castle town, with cherry-blossom viewing, a historic procession, a white-fox parade and goldfish displays among its recurring features. The city's 2024 report records about 240,000 visitors to that year's 15-day edition; this is a single-edition figure, not an annual guarantee. The 65th edition ran March 24–April 7, 2026. The next dates and programme are not announced; activities use different venues and may change, so check the city and tourism association's current notice before travelling. The 2026 guide advised weekend visitors about traffic congestion and Park & Ride; future arrangements are unconfirmed.
- Time
- There is no single festival-wide schedule; event times vary by programme. Check the current edition's official programme.
- Admission
- The 2026 tourism-association listing leaves a general festival admission fee blank; confirm any charge attached to an individual activity.
- Booking
- The annual overview does not state a festival-wide reservation requirement. Individual programmes may have separate entry or booking conditions; check the current notice.
Make a day of it
Explore guides close to this map point, then check the actual route before travelling. Distances below are straight lines, not walking distances or travel times; map points may not be entrances.
Sources & editorial status
Original MyNara draft based on the linked sources. Sources reviewed 24 October 2026. Opening arrangements, prices and offers may change; use the operator's current information before travelling.
- Nara Prefecture — Walk Nara route description, shrine enshrinee and architecture
- Yamato Koriyama City — castle history and the shrine founded on the honmaru in 1880
- Nara Prefecture — Yanagisawa family’s 1724 move to Koriyama and six generations of rule
- Yamato Koriyama Tourism Association — castle town, Yanagisawa family and goldfish history
- Yamato Koriyama Tourism Association — address, seasonal visit hours, free admission, station access and prayer-visitor parking
- Local tourism directory — supplementary shrine-office listing; confirm current details directly
- OpenStreetMap — Yanagisawa Shrine footprint used for an approximate map pin; not an entrance or access permission
- Yamato Koriyama City — goldfish breeders and call-ahead advice
- Yamato Koriyama City — goldfish history and annual early-April contest context (updated 2026-06-01)
- Yamato Koriyama City — 2025 report: 103rd Goldfish Appreciation Contest at the shrine
- Yamato Koriyama City — centenary contest venue change and judging context
- Yamato Koriyama City — Castle Festival events and official annual-event caveat
- Yamato Koriyama City — Koriyama Castle park hours and management zones