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Kanazawa is the capital city of [[Ishikawa prefecture]], and was previously the central [[castletown]] of [[Kaga han]].

Kanazawa is the capital city of [[Ishikawa prefecture]], and was previously the central [[castletown]] of [[Kaga han]].

Kanazawa was already home to a few thousand people when [[Sengoku Period]] [[daimyo|warlord]] [[Maeda Toshiie]] made it his chief castle headquarters in [[1583]]. With the construction of [[Kanazawa castle]], the city grew quickly, reaching 50,000 inhabitants by [[1630]], and 120,000 by [[1700]], becoming one of the largest cities in the world, rivaling Rome, Amsterdam, and Madrid, though never approaching the far larger populations of cities like [[Osaka]] and [[Edo]]. Though provincial, and not as prominently influential as [[Kyoto]] or even [[Nagoya]], Kanazawa was nevertheless a bustling and significant city in the [[Edo period]], and saw many visiting [[Noh]] and [[kabuki]] troupes (as well as local ''[[jishibai]]'' performances), as well as being home to nearly 25 printers and publishers.<ref>Henry Smith, "The History of the Book in Edo and Paris." in James McClain, et al (eds.) ''Edo & Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era''. Cornell University Press, 1994, p342, citing Inoue Takaaki. ''Kinsei shorin hanmoto sôran'' 近世書林版元総覧. ''Nihon shoshigaku taikei'' 14 日本書誌学体系１４. Seishôdô Shoten, 1981. p6.</ref> The city was also a destination for notable travelers; the ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' painters [[Kitagawa Sosetsu|Kitagawa Sôsetsu]] and [[Katsushika Oi]], for example, may have each lived in the city for a time.<ref>Gallery label, Kitagawa Sôsetsu, Poppies, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 29.100.524.; Kobayashi Tadashi and Julie Nelson Davis. "The Floating World in Light and Shadow: Ukiyo-e Paintings by Hokusai's Daughter Oi." in Carpenter, John et al (eds). Hokusai and his Age. Hotei Publishing, 2005. pp93-103.</ref>

Kanazawa was already home to a few thousand people when [[Sengoku Period]] [[daimyo|warlord]] [[Maeda Toshiie]] made it his chief castle headquarters in [[1583]]. With the construction of [[Kanazawa castle]] (beginning in [[1592]]), the city grew quickly, reaching 50,000 inhabitants by [[1630]], and 120,000 by [[1700]], becoming one of the largest cities in the world, rivaling Rome, Amsterdam, and Madrid, though never approaching the far larger populations of cities like [[Osaka]] and [[Edo]]. Though provincial, and not as prominently influential as [[Kyoto]] or even [[Nagoya]], Kanazawa was nevertheless a bustling and significant city in the [[Edo period]], and saw many visiting [[Noh]] and [[kabuki]] troupes (as well as local ''[[jishibai]]'' performances), as well as being home to nearly 25 printers and publishers.<ref>Henry Smith, "The History of the Book in Edo and Paris." in James McClain, et al (eds.) ''Edo & Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era''. Cornell University Press, 1994, p342, citing Inoue Takaaki. ''Kinsei shorin hanmoto sôran'' 近世書林版元総覧. ''Nihon shoshigaku taikei'' 14 日本書誌学体系１４. Seishôdô Shoten, 1981. p6.</ref> The city was also a destination for notable travelers; the ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' painters [[Kitagawa Sosetsu|Kitagawa Sôsetsu]] and [[Katsushika Oi]], for example, may have each lived in the city for a time.<ref>Gallery label, Kitagawa Sôsetsu, Poppies, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 29.100.524.; Kobayashi Tadashi and Julie Nelson Davis. "The Floating World in Light and Shadow: Ukiyo-e Paintings by Hokusai's Daughter Oi." in Carpenter, John et al (eds). Hokusai and his Age. Hotei Publishing, 2005. pp93-103.</ref>

Like all cities in early modern Japan, Kanazawa suffered large fires on a number of occasions, including in [[1690]], [[1759]], but was frequently quickly rebuilt.

Like all cities in early modern Japan, Kanazawa suffered large fires on a number of occasions, including in [[1635]], [[1690]], and [[1759]], but was frequently quickly rebuilt.

Kanazawa is still today home to one of the few active [[geisha]] districts remaining in Japan: the [[Higashi Chayagai]]. Kanazawa's second geisha district, the [[Nishi Chayagai]], was also prominent and active in the late [[Edo period]]. Other significant sites in the city include [[Oyama Shrine]], the so-called "Ninja Temple" of [[Myoryu-ji (Kanazawa)|Myôryû-ji]], and the [[Kenrokuen]] gardens, regarded one of the three most beautiful samurai gardens in the country.

Kanazawa is still today home to one of the few active [[geisha]] districts remaining in Japan: the [[Higashi Chayagai]]. Kanazawa's second geisha district, the [[Nishi Chayagai]], was also prominent and active in the late [[Edo period]]. Other significant sites in the city include [[Oyama Shrine]], the so-called "Ninja Temple" of [[Myoryu-ji (Kanazawa)|Myôryû-ji]], and the [[Kenrokuen]] gardens, regarded one of the three most beautiful samurai gardens in the country. A number of samurai homes (''[[buke yashiki]]'') also survive in the city today.

A large bronze statue of [[Yamato Takeru]], erected in [[1877]] in the Kenrokuen gardens adjoining the castle grounds, may be the earliest modern-style, bronze statue in the country of a "national" figure.

The castle was demolished in [[1873]], but has been partially rebuilt as a tourist destination and historical site in the postwar era. A large bronze statue of [[Yamato Takeru]], erected in [[1877]] in the Kenrokuen gardens adjoining the castle grounds, may be the earliest modern-style, bronze statue in the country of a "national" figure.