Kanezawa-hachimangū, Shinto shrine in Japan

Kanezawa-hachimangū is a Shinto shrine in Yokote built with simple wooden structures surrounded by well-maintained grounds. The shrine was rebuilt in 1604 and retains its traditional appearance with clean pathways and modest architectural features that reflect its historic origins.

The shrine was founded in 1093 when Minamoto no Yoshiie ordered Fujiwara no Kiyohira to install the Hachiman deity from Iwashimizu Hachimangū in Kyoto on the site of the fallen Kanazawa Stockade. From 1604, after the Satake clan became lords of Akita, the shrine was rebuilt and repaired more than a dozen times. It was renamed Kanezawa Hachimangū in 1989.

Each September 14, the shrine holds a eve-of-festival rite in which participants trade improvised verses sung to the Senboku Nikata-bushi, a local work song. The next day's festival features ritual sumo and the Sasara dance, a three-headed lion dance passed down from the Sasara tradition of the Satake retainer Mogi Hyakki.

The shrine is reached by bus from Yokote or Omagari stations, getting off at Kanazawa Kōen Iriguchi or Kanazawa Honchō, and there is a parking lot. The grounds adjoin Kanazawa Park, whose paths lead to the site of the medieval Kanazawa Castle and to a viewpoint over the plain. The September 14 eve festival features improvised sung exchanges to the Senboku Nikata-bushi melody.

The bronze horse statue in the grounds was completed in 1936 and survived the metal-collection orders of the Pacific War years. Nearby stands the Kabuto Stone, said to mark where Minamoto no Yoshiie buried his helmet after his victory. The shrine also claims to be the birthplace of natto: soybeans fermenting on Yoshiie's horses are said to have produced it.