Jcastle.info

Guide to Japanese Castles

Kanazawa Castle

金沢城

Hashizume Gate
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Alternate Name Oyama-jo
Founder Maeda Toshiie
Year 1580
Type Hilltop
Condition Other Buildings
Admin's Rating ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Historical Site National Historic Site
Historical Value Top 100 Castles, Important Cultural Properties
Historical Artifacts Important Cultural Properties:
Ishikawa Gate, Sanjukken Nagaya
Location Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref.
Map Google Map
Access Kanazawa Sta. (Hokuriku Line), 15 minutes by bus
Website Kanazawa Castle Sightseeing
Visited June 10, 2006
Notes I visited this castle on the day of the Hyakumangoku Festival. There were too many people around to get a lot of good pictures but the festival was worthwhile. Pay attention to the splendid stone walls around the castle. I later found out there is also a walking path around much of the stone walls with signs along the way explaining different types. See if you can find it. Even though there are few original building, the size of the compound, many stone walls, and the well preserved Samurai quarter make this a 5 star site.
History The castle was first founded by Sakuma Morimasa, a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, in 1580. He started to build one of the moats and to build up the castle town. After the Battle of Shizugatake in 1583 it was taken over by Maeda Toshiie who built up the castle in earnest.

The castle originally had a large 6 level donjon, but it burned down in 1602 and was never rebuilt. Kanazawa Castle had several fires that destroyed parts of the castle over the years. The Maeda clan ruled over the Kaga region from Kanazawa for 14 generations until the coming of the Meiji Restoration.

The picture above is the Hashizume Gate and connected yagura. The gate separates the Ninomaru (second bailey) from the Sannomaru (third bailey).
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Viewer Comments

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  • furinkazan    August 04, 2009 at 12:36 AM
    I visited this site in january last year. I liked it because the walls are very beautiful and it was the first time i saw castlewalls like these. Some parts of the site were closed for reconstuction purposes. So i guess there is more to see now. About the samuraiquarter: these are really nice dwellings with very beautiful streets.
  • Raymond    September 25, 2008 at 04:22 PM
    Love your website here and have used it many times to plan my visits to some castles. Kanazawa Castle or rather its ruins and reconstructed parts are quite impressive. I went there just this past weekend. Right now, they are working on reconstructing the Kahokumon or the Kahoku Gate. The reconstructed Gojikkennagaya Storehouse with the two turrets on either end gives the visitor an idea of what the inside of a Japanese storehouse / fortified wall is like when it was newly built. Some nice displays inside about its reconstruction and how wooden joints are made inside the storehouse. Entry is just 300yen. Just one question. I noticed the model of the original Kanazawa Castle on display did not show a central keep in its Honmaru section. Do you know where I can go to check if this is correct or not? I asked one of the staff there about it, but my Japanese is not so good. I think she said something about this castle not having a central keep or tenshu. Sometimes, I wish I can speak Japanese better, so I can get a fuller grasp of what's going on.