Yonezawa (Yonezawa) is a city located in the Okitama region of Yamagata Prefecture. It is the largest city in the Okitama region and has the fourth largest population in the prefecture. It is the location of the Yamagata Prefecture Okitama General Branch Office and is known as the castle town of the Uesugi clan (Yonezawa Domain). The municipal system came into effect in 1889 (Meiji 22).
The city area includes most of Minami-Okitama-gun and a part of Higashiokitama-gun. The southern and eastern parts are basins surrounded by large mountains, and are generally called Yonezawa Basin. The southern part of the city is a complex terrain with a number of rivers carved out, and ridgeways and valleys alternately line east and west. The old Yonezawa Highway, which was the main route connecting Yonezawa and Aizu until the Meiji period, has two passes: Funasaka-toge Pass and Tsunagi-toge Pass in the city up to Hibara-toge Pass across the prefectural border. The area around the Azuma mountain range at the southern end is Bandai-Asahi National Park, and there is Tengendai Ski Resort. The urban area is located in the north-central part of the city, and is concentrated near the Yonezawa Castle ruins on the west bank of the Mogami River.