Kanazawa, also known as little Kyoto, is located northwest of Kyoto. Kanazawa should appeal to tourists tired of the hustle of Japanese cities. It is a much nicer and nicer city compared to big cities. Coziness is created by fewer high-rise walls, a lot of greenery, and significant historical heritage. Kanazawa is a city where you can relax.
Kanazawa is famous for its large district of tea houses with geishas Higashi Chaya. The Nagamachi neighborhood of samurai houses has survived and is being rebuilt here. Kanazawa has a beautiful classical Japanese garden-style park, Kenrokuen, and a large fish market in Omichi. There is also a castle – a fortress that most travelers do not have time to visit. Visiting all these facilities is a maximum plan.
About 466,000 people live in the city of Kanazawa itself, which is also the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture.
The name Kanazawa (金沢) literally means “gold swamp” comes from the legend of a peasant named Imohori Togoro who dug potatoes and discovered gold bars. A well located on the territory of Kenroku-en called “Kinjo Reitaku” (金城麗澤) seems to confirm this story.
Kanazawa was one of the few major Japanese cities not destroyed by air raids during World War II, so much of Kanazawa’s architectural heritage has survived.
Kenroku-en Park
Kenroku-en Garden is perhaps the most famous part of Kanazawa. Kenroku-en (兼六園, Garden of Six Attributes) is an old classical garden. The name refers to the six qualities of the perfect landscape: spaciousness, seclusion, artistry, antiquity, waterways and panoramas.
Along with Kairaku-en and Koraku-en, Kenroku-en is one of the three great gardens of Japan. The garden is open all year round except from December 29 until January 3, and is famous for its beauty in all seasons. Entrance is paid.
It is full of various trees, ponds, waterfalls and flowers spread over an area of 10 hectares. In winter, the park stands out for its yukitsuri, cone-shaped ropes attached to trees that support the branches against the weight of heavy wet snow, protecting the trees from damage.
Although the date of the garden’s creation is rather unclear, one version of the garden’s origin may be related to the construction of an aqueduct, as this element was later included in the creation of the garden’s winding waterways.
In contrast, other versions of the origin of the garden state that one of the local feudal daimyo Tsunanori built a house on the slope in front of Kanazawa Castle and gave the garden the name Renchitei. Renchi-tei means “lotus pond”.
From the documents of the 18th century, it is known that before the fire, the garden was often used and enjoyed by successive rulers and landlords, organizing various feasts, moon-gazing festivals and koyo during the colorful maple season. In addition, local legend says that the sacred well of Kenrokuen is probably the oldest object in the garden.
Legend has it that 1,200 years ago, a peasant named Togoro stopped at a well to wash potatoes. Suddenly, gold splashes started pouring out of the well, from which the name Kanazawa originated. Kanazawa, as mentioned above, means golden swamp. The water from the well flows into the purification pool of a nearby Shinto temple. Crowds of people come to the holy water well for the tea ceremony.
During the Meiji period, the Shigure-tei teahouse was completely restored. It can still be seen today in the part of the Renchitei garden.
The 19th-century Seisonkaku Villa is also located on the park grounds. Much of the villa has been demolished, but what remains is one of the most elegant surviving feudal villas in Japan. The villa is located at the corner of Kenrokuen and there is a separate entrance fee. Noteworthy are the brightly colored brickwork of the upper floor with purple or red walls and dark blue ceilings (red walls – benigara – are a Kanazawa tradition) and a custom-made English carpet in the audience hall.
The garden is located outside the gates of Kanazawa Castle and covers an area of about 11 hectares. There are approximately 8,750 trees growing in Kenrokuen, with a total of 183 plant species.
Kanazawa Castle (金沢城, Kanazawa-jo)
The original castle wasd estroyed by fire in 1888, but it was partially rebuilt.
In the late Muromachi period, followers of the Rennyo teachings of the Jyodo Shinshu sect ousted the official rulers of Kaga Province, the Togashi clan, and established a kind of theocratic republic later called the “peasant kingdom”. Their main stronghold was Kanazawa Gobo, a fortified temple complex atop the Kodatsuno Range. Surrounded by high hills and rivers on two sides, it became a natural fortress around which the castle town grew. This was the beginning of the birth of the city of Kanazawa.
Maeda Toshiie made Kanazawa the base of his dominions, which expanded to include the entire provinces of Kaga, Noto, and Echu as the Kaga Domain during the Tokugawa Shogunate. in 1592 he ordered a complete reconstruction of the castle based on the military lessons learned during the Japanese invasion of Korea.
Initially, the new castle had a six-story building, which in 1602 burned down and was not rebuilt. Instead, the Hon-maru palace, or residence of the Maeda clan, was built in the inner rear, with a three-story yagura turret.
The castle was later burned several times and was rebuilt. In 2008 the castle has been declared a national historic site.
Most of the current buildings are reconstructed from what the castle looked like in the 1850s.
Although the Maeda clan was the most powerful daimyo in Japan after the ruling Tokugawa clan, their position was not undisputed. Kanazawa Castle in the center of the city, which itself was composed of many elements to increase the overall defensive position. The castle is built on the highest point between the Sai and Asano rivers. Additionally, the castle is surrounded by a system of ditches and canals. Maeda Toshinaga, the second daimio of the Kaga Domain, built a system of internal moats with a total length of more than 3,000 m, and between 1600 and 1614. another system of external ditches was installed. 1583-1630 to supply drinking water. built several canals connected to the ditch system. The total length of the system was almost 15 km.
In order to ensure additional protection, the castle territory was divided into nine enclosures, divided by earth embankments, stone walls and defensive gates surrounding the area where the residence of the Maeda clan was located. In many of Japan’s castle towns, Buddhist temples were deliberately built in locations chosen to reinforce weak points in the castle’s defenses. Kanazawa was no exception. The temples were strategically grouped in areas some distance from the castle, most likely as a retreat.
The distinctive whitish roof tiles of the castle are made of lead. This is not only because they are resistant to fire, but also because, according to legend, during a siege, the tiles could have been melted and bullets poured out of them.
Kanazawa boasts a number of Edo period (1603-1867) geisha houses in the Higashi geisha district, across the Asano River. Traditional Japanese architecture has been preserved in this area. The two-story wooden facades are simple and have strict forms. This impression is further enhanced by the early morning fog. At night, the street is illuminated by street lamps restored from the Taisho period.
Houses were taxed according to the width of the frontage, resulting in many long, thin houses. Unlike samurai houses, they were built right next to the road and directly bordered their neighbors. They were two stories. The upper floor was mainly used for storage. Shops are located in front of the house. One of the hallmarks of Kanazawa merchant houses is a long dirt corridor that runs from the front door to the back of the house. A typical merchant’s house had a shop, a couple of inner rooms, and the most important room was at the back, opening onto the inner garden. Behind it was the kitchen, and at the back of the house – a thick-walled fireproof warehouse.
Although very few traditional houses survive from the Edo period, the basic style remained unchanged until World War II. One of the distinctive design features on the sides of the upper floor are the forward protruding “sode-utatsu” wings. Their exact purpose is not clear, but one theory is that they protected against the wind. This makes sense given Kanazawa’s weather. Snow was also an important factor in the design of the house. The roofs led down to the central garden, which was designed so that the snow would not only accumulate, but also illuminate the back of the house. The view of Kanazawa with the sea of black glazed tiles glistening in the sun is a favorite view of Kanazawa for tourists.
House of the Samurai
in 1611 a large-scale reorganization of the Kanazawa samurai territories took place. Since total domain revenue has quadrupled over the past couple of decades, some reorganization was necessary. It was necessary to find a place for 14 families and their dependents whose income exceeded 3,000 koku. The wealthiest families were evicted from the castle and received huge estates throughout the city. Their own dependents were housed in huge compounds nearby. The most prominent example in Kanazawa is the Honda machi district where the dependents of the wealthy and powerful Honda family lived.
In most cases, even in cities as large as Sendai and Satsuma, samurai lived mostly on their own land. However, in Kaga, all samurai, regardless of income, lived in Kanazawa. When the 17th century By the end of Kanazawa, more than three-quarters of its territory was built as samurai residences. Closest to the castle were the vast estates of the eight palaces (chief vassals) and their retainers. For every 100 koku of income, the samurai received about 550 sq. m of land, and the “middle class” samurai had an average of 800, which is a huge area compared to modern Japanese housing. The richest vassal family, the Hondas, had an income of 50,000 koku. The minimum income for the daimio level was 10,000 koku, and in addition to eight houses, approximately twelve families had incomes above this amount. Kanazawa was full of huge mansions.
The size and location of a samurai’s dwelling was determined by income and social status. The architecture of samurai houses was quite similar. A single-story dwelling house, usually quite square or rectangular in plan, surrounded by a garden (both vegetable and ornamental). The roof was gabled and faced the road. The border of the wall was usually made of filled earth covered with tiles. There are quite a few of them in the city, especially in Nagamachi district. The size and height of the wall and the entrance gate were also determined by rank. Samurai with incomes above 400 koku had stable gates to house guards and horses.
Although the Nagamachi district is advertised as a “samurai district” in tourist brochures, the vast majority of houses are not samurai houses, but modern post-war housing. There are very few real samurai houses in Kanazawa. This is because after the Meiji Restoration, samurai lost their traditional income and many of them sold their estates, which were turned into fields, and before World War II were converted into modern residences.
Teramachi district (Temple area )
One of the distinctive aspects of Kanazawa and other castle towns is the clustering of temples at the entrance to the city. When Kanazawa was ruled by Ikko, all the temples belonged to the Ikko sect. After the Ikko were defeated, other sects settled here: Soto, Shingon, Hokke, etc. Around 1616 they were settled in the present-day area of the “temple city” of Teramachi. They were lined up side by side along the long straight path leading to the foot of Mount Nodayama. It has often been argued that this type of planning is defensive in nature. Wide spaces, thick walls and large temple halls could have been used as fortifications. However, it is not clear how much this affected the layout. At least in Kanazawa’s case, it’s never been tried.
On the other side of town, at the foot of the hill of the same name, the Utatsuyama Temple District has smaller temples and winding roads.
Geisha Districts – Higashi (East) Geisha District
in 1820 At the foot of Mount Utatsuyama and near the Sai River, “geisha districts” (hanamachi) were created to control and regulate brothels and prostitutes (also called bath girls jujo 湯女). A decade later, the geisha districts were abolished. Just before the Meiji Restoration, the districts were legalized again and remained so until 1954, when prostitution was officially banned. The geisha districts were off limits to the samurai. They were patronized by rich merchants and craftsmen who competed with each other to spend more money on parties.
A geisha house, or as it is commonly called a “tea house”, looks similar to a merchant’s house (much like a samurai house looks like an outbuilding). However, unlike merchant houses where the second floor was used for storage and thus very low, the second floor of the tea house is much higher as the upper floor was used as the main entertainment space.
On the upper floors, sliding wooden shutters were opened during the day or when there was a party. The lower floor is lined with unique, extremely fine grates, which are called “Kaga grates”. The decor was of a much higher standard than most merchant homes. Partly because of the long, dreary winters, Kaga’s decor is much more vibrant than Kyoto-style gray earth browns, greens, and ochres. Bold bright reds (benigara 紅柄) and ultramarine were popular.
Local crafts
Kanazawa haku is gold beaten into a sheet of paper. Gold leaf occupies an important place in the city’s cultural crafts. If you have time, be sure to visit the Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum. Gold is found throughout Kanazawa and Ishikawa. Kanazawa produces 99% of Japan’s high quality gold leaf. The gold leaf that covered the famous Golden Pavilion in Kyoto was also made in Kanazawa. Gold leaves are even added to food. The city is famous for tea with gold leaf, which the Japanese consider good for health. Kanazawa lacquerware (Kanazawa shikki) is also well-known, traditionally decorated with gold dust.
Local cuisine
Kanazawa is famous for its traditional Kaga cuisine, which specializes in seafood. This region produces sake, which is made from rice grown in Ishikawa Prefecture. The Hokuriku region receives a lot of rainfall, so there is an abundance of clean and fresh water. Therefore, excellent rice and water are the basis for the production of high-quality sake.
Ohmicho Market is a market in the middle of the city whose history dates back to the Edo period. Most shops sell seafood. If you have the opportunity, be sure to visit the unique market to taste Japanese seafood.
