Article

11408 ／よりいまち

Saitama Prefecture 大里郡

Yorii Town

Hōjō castle ruins above the Ara River.

Hachigata Castle ruins

Photo by 柴錬アワー (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Hachigata Castle

To spare his garrison,Hōjō Ujikuni gave up the castle.

Hachigata Castle (鉢形城) stands on cliffs between the Ara River and the Fukasawa River. It is said to have been built by Nagao Kageharu in 1476, and Hōjō Ujikuni, fourth son of Hōjō Ujiyasu, enlarged it into his base for ruling the northern Kantō. In the 1590 siege of Odawara it was surrounded by forces including those of Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu, and on 14 June it was handed over on condition that the garrison's lives be spared.

Said to be built in 1476
Surrendered 14 June 1590
National Historic Site, 1932

02 ／ Suitengū festival

On the night of the fishermen's water god,boat floats glow on the river.

Tamayodo (玉淀), where the Ara River leaves the Chichibu hills for the plain, became a Prefectural Place of Scenic Beauty in 1935. Downstream, fishermen had enshrined a water god to guard against drowning; it was enshrined together with Suitengū (水天宮), and the first grand festival was held in 1931. Today, on the first Saturday of August, about 5,000 fireworks rise with the Hachigata Castle site behind them, and funa-dashi (舟山車) boat floats drift on the water.

First grand festival, 1931
About 5,000 fireworks
First Saturday of August

03 ／ Suzumenomiya Park

A great kabuki actorbuilt a villa by the Ara River.

Matsumoto Kōshirō VII, who played Benkei in Kanjinchō more than 1,600 times in his life, took a liking to Yorii's scenery and in 1913 built a villa here, the Bushū Yorii-machi Suzumitei (武州寄居町雀亭). It stood until the early Shōwa period, and its site is now Suzumenomiya Park (雀宮公園), with an arbour modelled on the villa and a stone carved with shuhari (守破離), the motto of his great-grandson Matsumoto Kōshirō X.

Villa built 1913
Benkei played 1,600+ times
Shuhari stone, 2021

Living here

Three railways meet at Yorii Station.

about 30,000 people
Rural district town

Yorii Station is served by the Tobu Tojo Line, the JR Hachikō Line and the Chichibu Railway. From Ikebukuro it is about 70 minutes on the Tojo Line to Ogawamachi, then about 20 minutes after changing trains. From fiscal 2026 the town made school lunches free at its elementary and junior high schools, and nursery fees for ages 0 to 2 are free as well. Children's medical costs are covered until the end of the school year in which they turn 18.

People living here: 32,374people
Area: 64.25km²
Households: 13,287households
Rent (average for rentals): 41,695yen
Healthcare: 2 hospitals ／ 21 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —8 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 7 municipalities.

Yorii Town in Japan36.118°N 139.193°E

Territory of Yorii Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

12.0km

深谷市, 小川町, 長瀞町, 美里町, 東秩父村, 皆野町, 嵐山町

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Yorii Town isthis kind of town.

01On cliffs between the Ara and Fukasawa rivers lies the site of Hachigata Castle, enlarged by Hōjō Ujikuni
02At the Suitengū festival, which began with a water god enshrined by fishermen, fireworks rise every August with the castle site behind them, and boat floats drift on the river
03The riverside where kabuki actor Matsumoto Kōshirō VII kept a villa is now Suzumenomiya Park

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Yorii Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗