Kanazawa Castle

From Jcastle.info

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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 six-level main keep, 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 of the Hashizume Gate and connected yagura. The gate separates the Ninomaru (second bailey) from the Sannomaru (third bailey).

Visit Notes

This is an amazing castle. The castle alone is 4 stars, but when considering the samurai homes, castle town, and Kenrokuen Gardens, the complete site is a 5 star destination. The castle is much larger than it looks. I was not able to visit some areas this trip so I definitely want to visit again. Plan even more time than you might think you'll need and don't miss the Kenrokuen Gardens either.
金沢城はとても素晴らしい城です。城跡そのものも四つ星ですが、城下町、武家屋敷、兼六園を全部入れると五つ星です。城も思うより大きいので余裕を持って訪れてください。城と兼六園だけでも一日がかかります。私もまだ見ていない場所があるのでまた行きたいと思います。

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Castle Profile
English Name Kanazawa Castle
Japanese Name 金沢城
Alternate Names Oyama-jo
Founder Maeda Toshiie
Year Founded 1580
Castle Type Hilltop
Castle Condition No main keep but other buildings
Designations Top 100 Castles, has Important Cultural Properties, National Historic Site
Historical Period Edo Period
Artifacts Ishikawa Gate, Tsurumaru Warehouse, Sanjukken Nagaya
Features gates, turrets, samurai homes, water moats, trenches, stone walls, walls, castle town
Visitor Information
Access Kanazawa Sta. (Hokuriku Line), 15 minutes by bus
Visitor Information Park open 7am to 6pm (March 1-October 15), 8am to 5pm otherwise. The Buildings are open 9am to 4:30pm. The castle buildings are 310 yen for admission or you can get a combination ticket with the Kenrokuen Gardens for 500 yen.
Time Required 180 mins
Website http://www.pref.ishikawa.jp/siro-niwa/kanazawajou/
Location Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture
Coordinates 36° 33' 56", 136° 39' 33"
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Admin
Year Visited 2006, 2016
Visits June 10, 2006; Oct 29, 2016
Added to Jcastle 2006

Nearby Samurai Homes

Kanazawa43.jpg

Nomura Residence

Kanazawa41.jpg

Oya Residence

Kanazawa75.jpg

Shimizu Residence

Kanazawa76.jpg

Takanishi Residence
3.79
(39 votes)
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FurinkazanHatamoto

11 months ago
Score 0++

This is my 3rd visit to Kanazawa. The 2 first visits were in organized tours and the castle wasn't on the schedule. The first time i saw the Ishikawamon from the entrance of the Kenrokuen and the second time we went through this gate and i saw the Gojikken nagaya with its turrets, but that was it. Today i made the tour completely. I began with the Oyama shrine, where a nice statue of Maeda Toshiie on horse, stands. I went to the castle grounds and made a tour before the buildings opened. Sadly during the week the Sanjikken nagaya and the Tsurumaru storehouse stay closed. Apparently they are only open during the weekend. The reconstructed buildings are really a must see. From the castle i went to the Seisonkaku. I skipped the Kenrokuen. I saw it 2 times before. The Seisonkaku has very beautiful shoin zukuri and sukiya zukuri rooms. It is very well known for this. I went on to the Prefectural history museum and the Kaga-Honda museum. These are former storehouses in red bricks. They have some nice artifacts. I went there after to the nagamachi. I visited the Maeda Tosanokami museum, the Shinise merchant house, the Nomura house, the nagayamon of the former Takada home and the ashigaru Shiryokan. These are all interesting buildings. This evening i went back to the castle. To see the castle lit up. There was also a light and music show in the inner garden. There is a calendar for it. I received it at the information booth in the Kanazawa station, when i asked about the castle. I highly recommend to visit this site.

Don't forget to ask an english pamphlet in the Kahokumon. You receive one on request.

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SnoworionGunshi

19 months ago
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Visited on 13 October 2015. Intending to visit the next-door gardens but spent some time in the castle grounds and explored the magnificent stone walls that still stand today. There still remain some original buildings but the castle itself is slowly being rebuilt.

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DiegoDeManilaAshigaru

22 months ago
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Visited a second time on 01 July 2015 (https://with...1-july-2015/). The Hashizume-mon - destroyed in an 1881 fire - had just been reconstructed, so I was glad for the opportunity to see the new addition to the castle grounds. I regret not visiting the newly restored inner garden (also just completed that year) but it's something to look forward to for next time. Not sure what reconstruction they've lined up next (assuming that the Hashizume-mon and the garden wasn't the last of it), but I'm definitely hoping to see something new when I swing by again.

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LidiamqPeasant

23 months ago
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There's no castle but still some of the building that have been reconstructed. It is a very nice place to be when the cherry trees in flower

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Kiddus i2003Ashigaru

47 months ago
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Have made three trips to Kanazawa and every time something new is started or finished at Kanazawa-jo.

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BryanbaierPeasant

75 months ago
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The grounds are nice but only the main gate is original. A nice thing to see in conjunction with Kenrokuen

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Frank T.Gunshi

79 months ago
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No keep, but this is a great site. The town itself is worth the visit as well.

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RaymondWHatamoto

81 months ago
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I went to this castle on the weekend as well as visiting three other castle sites in Fukui Prefecture. It was my third time visiting this castle. Kanazawa Castle rocks! As Rebolforces has already mentioned below, the local government is consistently working on improving this castle site. The Kahoku Gate, which was being reconstructed when I last visited in 2009, is now completed. They rebuilt it based on old photos and original plans using authentic materials including four different kinds of timber. The reconstruction finished in April 2010. Apart from adding the Kahoku Gate to the list of original and reconstructed structures, the local authorities have also restored the Imori Moat and filled it with water as it was during the Edo Period. Next to the moat, they have rebuilt one of the bases of an outlying turret. Still, these guys are not done yet. They are currently renovating the Ishikawa Gate and a section of the northern wall. Also, they are rebuilding the Ninomon of the Hashizume Gate, restoring it to its original masagata style with a first gate(rebuilt awhile back) and the second gate (under construction and to be built in a yaguramon style), and a solid killing zone from three sides in the middle. One of the staff also told me that they will be clearing some of the trees and bushes obscuring the ishigaki on the western side of honmaru. This castle site is getting better and better. I was lucky with this visit as I could go inside almost all the structures: Sanjikken Storehouse, Gojikken Storehouse, Ishikawa Gate, and Kahoku Gate. Also, the castle is signposted in both Japanese and English, and there are plenty of educational displays explaining the construction of Japanese castles using traditional methods and materials. This is a fabulous reconstructed castle to visit. This castle is definitely worth a 4 star rating.

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RebolforcesAshigaru

84 months ago
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Combined with Kenrokuen, this is a must see. They are constantly researching and rebuilding using old techniques

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UsagiAshigaru

88 months ago
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Large grounds with many sakura, omiyage shops, and interesting museum. Tremendous castle town surrounding as well.

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FurinkazanHatamoto

106 months ago
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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.

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RaymondWHatamoto

116 months ago
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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.

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