Kanazawa castle
After having campaigned against the Ikko-Ikki in Kaga Province on behalf of Oda Nobunaga, his general Maeda Toshiie began to make plans to construct a castle to oversee his new lands. He chose the location of the village of Yamazaki (not the same site of the battle involving Akechi Mitsuhide), which had held a Buddhist temple subdued by Toshiie, upon which to construct it. Construction began upon Kanazawa Castle in 1580 and came to a close in 1592. As the fortunes of the Maeda increased under the reign of Tokugawa Ieyasu, this castle was rivaled only by Osaka and Edo in size and majesty. However, the complex seems to have set the world record for being beset by conflagrations. Beginning in 1602 when the tenshu was destroyed by fire, no less than 30 major blazes were reported. The Maeda doggedly continued to repair the damage after each incident, and even initiated new construction (a rarity during the Tokugawa Shogunate when castle construction and repairs were highly restricted and regulated). The major gatehouse-the Ishikawa-mon-was built in 1788, and as late as 1858 the Maeda constructed a new armory (a two story 30 bay structure, giving it the name of Sanju-ken Nagaya) along with several other structures. The castle finally met its doom when the Meiji government destroyed the buildings and the second court of the castle was destroyed by fire (1881).
The most interesting role of the castle was not its own history but that of everything that sprang up around it. The Maeda built the famous (and practical) Pond Garden. The streams feeding the garden also served the purpose of supplying the castle town with water, and the terminus of these streams was shaped into a replica of Lake Biwa near Kyoto. The castle town spawned the Kaga-Hosho school of Noh. Kutani pottery was first made here, and the Maeda lords sent to China and Korea for technical advice on ceramics. The area was also famous for its wrought iron tea kettles used for tea ceremony.
But the most famous attraction related to the castle is Myoryu-ji (‘trick temple’, also known as the ‘ninja house’) located across town from the castle. It looks like any other temple, but actually was a seven story castle built with the roof of a Buddhist temple. Because the Maeda were the second richest clan in Japan after the Tokugawa, they were under intense surveillance by Ieyasu’s spys monitoring their actions. To avoid this scrutiny, the Maeda conducted all their important business at Myoryu-ji. They were able to reach the ‘temple’ unobserved via the central well, which in addition to supplying water featured a tunnel straight to Kanazawa Castle. Myoryu-ji is loaded with other secret doors and passages and all the interior windows face the well. Perhaps the most ingenious aspect of Myoryu-ji is the coin collection chest inside the front room. It looks like any other contribution box in any temple, but actually disguises a trap door designed to drop an enemy to his death.
Today, of Kanazawa Castle proper, only a turret, the Ishikawa-mon, and the 177 foot long armory remain. These structures feature the famous Kutani lead tiling from the region. The Ishikawa-mon protected the rear entrance to Kanazawa and has a triple-roofed Korai-mon and a two story Yagura-mon boxing the courtyard. It also has a corner tower and parapets. The roofing was made from lead, which along with the tiling could be melted down to make bullets in case of a siege. The castle site was home to Kanazawa University until 1989.
While not much remains of the castle, Kanazawa is still worthy of a visit. The castle town has many interesting structures. The Pond Garden (now Kenroku Park) and the Maeda mansion still stand, and the Myoryu-ji is a prime destination as well.
