Kanazawa castle
- Built: 1580, 1583
- Founder:Sakuma Morimasa, Maeda Toshiie
- Demolished:1873
- Reconstructed:2001(Yagura, gate)
- Type: Flatland-Mountain (hirayama-jô)
- Japanese:金沢城(Kanazawa-jou)
After having campaigned against the Ikkô-ikki of Kaga province on behalf of Oda Nobunaga, 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 the Oyama Gobô, a Buddhist temple-fortress 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 clan increased under the reign of Tokugawa Ieyasu, this castle was rivaled only by Osaka and Edo in size and majesty. However, the complex was quite frequently beset with 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 Edo period 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 Sanjû-ken Nagaya, which is now known as Gojukken Nagaya) along with several other structures. The castle finally met its doom when the Meiji government destroyed the buildings and the second bailey (ni-no-maru) of the castle was destroyed by fire in 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) Kenrokuen 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 Hôshô school of Noh. Kutani pottery was first made here, and the Maeda lords sent missions 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 Myôryû-ji, located across town from the castle. It looks like any other temple, but actually was a seven-story fortress. Because the Maeda were the wealthiest clan in Japan after the Tokugawa, they were under intense surveillance by Ieyasu’s spies. To avoid this scrutiny, the Maeda conducted much of their important business at Myôryû-ji. Myôryû-ji is loaded with secret doors and passages and a number of defensive features, such as hidden spiked pits.
Today, a number of structures of Kanazawa castle has been rebuilt, including the Ishikawa-mon, Gojukken-nagaya, Sanjukken-nagaya, and Tsurumaru storehouse. These structures feature the famous Kutani lead tiling from the region. The Ishikawa-mon originally protected the rear entrance to the castle and has a triple-roofed Kôrai-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.
Links
References
- Terada Shôichi (ed.) Meijô wo aruku 2: Kanazawa-jô. Tokyo: PHP Kenkyûsho, 2002.
- Kodama Kota & Tsuboi Kiyotari, editors Nihon Joukaku Taikei-20 Volumes Tokyo:Shinjimbutsu oraisha, 1981
- Hinago Motoo Nihon No Bijutsu #54:Shiro Tokyo:Shibundo, 1970
- Schmorleitz, Morton S Castles In Japan Tokyo:Charles E Tuttle Company Inc, 1974
- Nihon no Meijo Kojo Jiten 1989
