Ueda castle was built by Sanada Masayuki who is famous for the strategies of war during the Age of Civil Wars. The Sengoku clan succeeded to the Sanada clans, developed Ueda Domain and rebuilt the Ueda Castle after it burnt down at the Battle of Sekigahara. After the Sengoku clan, Matsudaira clan took over as the feudal lords from the mid-Edo period to the Meiji period. Seven generations lasted for about 160 years. The Matsudaira clan is regarded as the ancestor of the Tokunaga Shogun Families and is called the Fujii-Matsudaira clan. The first feudal lord Matsudaira Tadaharu changed his name to Chuzan after his retirement. The Chuuzansya Shirne was established in Kyoto after his death. The Sanada Shirne originated from this Chuzansya Shirne.

After the Meiji Restoration, Ueda Domain was abolished. Feudal retainers or people of the Ueda Domain wanted to establish the shrine to worship the Matsudaira clan at the Ruins of Ueda Castle. Therefore, the Matsudaira Shrine was built and contributed to by Maruyama Heihachiro, the then owner of Ueda Castle’s main building in 1879.

After the World War 2, the Sanada clan and the Sengoku clan were enshrined together as guardians of Ueda Castle in 1953. The shrine was named Ueda Shrine, and changed its name to Sanada Shrine in 1963.