Kanazawa Castle Park 金沢城

Recently restored after many years of labor, several turrets, gates, and warehouses of Kanazawa Castle 金沢城 are now open to the public. These new structures beautifully recreate what life might have been like in the past. Originally built for Toshiie Maeda starting in 1583, the castle was repeatedly destroyed in fires over the centuries. The building style changed with each rebuilding, and the current design is based on the castle from the 1850s which burnt down in 1881.

Kanazawa Castle

Across all structures the roof tiles are made of lead.  It is not certain why lead roof tiles were used but literature from the Edo period says, “We have used lead roof tiles so that the castle would look magnificent and graceful” though a more practical opinion is that the tiles could be melted down for weaponry during periods of siege. The Edo Castle in Tokyo uses lead tiles as well.

Kanazawa Castle inner moat (photo: lesleyk/flickr)

The main features of the Kanazawa Castle complex are:

Hishi Yagura watchtower in Kanazawa Castle (photo: Derringdos/flickr)

• Hishi Yagura – Watchtower which is three-stories high and built at a slight angle to the rest of the structures, which results in diamond-shaped internal pillars. It is such a large structure within that in the late 18th century it was called “the palace of 1,000 tatami”

Kanazawa Castle

• Gojikken Nagaya – A long, two-story high, multi-sided turret normally used as a warehouse so was built like a hall

Sanjikken Nagaya Warehouse at Kanazawa Castle Park

• Sanjikken Nagaya – A 50-yard-long warehouse rebuilt in 1858 and designated an Important National Cultural Asset

Hashizume-mon & Tsuzuki Yagura at Kanazawa Castle Park (photo: jpellgen/flickr)

• Hashizume-mon Tsuzuki Yagura – Watchtower and command post which is three-stories high

Imori Moat at Kanazawa Castle Park

• Imori moat – Once an outer moat surrounding the southwest part of Kanazawa Castle. During the Edo period, the moat spanned some 40 meters at its widest portions with a depth of more than 10 meters. Filled in by the Army in the 1907, a portion was restored in 2010

Hashizume-mon – main gate of Kanazawa Castle (photo: Joel Abroad/flickr)

• Hashizume-ichi-no-mon Gate – Entrance gate

Tsuru-no-maru Dobei – Shown on left (photo: teikan/flickr)

• Tsuru-no-maru Dobei – Double earthen wall which rises almost 3 metres above the stone wall and  is made by attaching flat tiles to the earthen wall with plaster. It is very thick and filled with pebbles, so gun bullets cannot penetrate it. In fact, it works very well for defense. Even if a bullet makes a hole in the wall, pebbles fall down from the upper part and fills in the breaches

Kanazawa Castle: Ishikawa Gate (Photo credit: jpellgen)

• Ishikawa-mon Gate – Entrance gate which was rebuilt in 1858 with two distinctive styles of stonework. It has been designated an Important National Cultural Asset. This gate faces one of the entrances of Kenroku-en Garden

菱櫓・五十間長屋・橋爪門続櫓

It is free to walk through the grounds of Kanazawa Castle Park, but there is an admission fee of 300 yen for adults to enter the buildings. Children from 6 to 17 years old cost 100 yen and seniors over 65 years old with valid ID can enter for free. There are also special early admission hours throughout the year where all visitors can enter from 5 am for free.

ここだよ＠石川県金沢市

Wheelchairs are available for guest use. The park is open from 7 am to 6 pm from March 1 to October 15, and from 8 am to 5 pm from October 16 through the end of February.

Three city buses run from Kanazawa Station to different gates of the park which is located adjacent to the Kenroku-en Garden in the Ishikawa Prefecture. The Kenroku-en Garden was once the castle’s private outer garden.

 

For more information:  http://www.pref.ishikawa.jp/siro-niwa/kanazawajou/e/index.html

Recommended Hotels in Kanazawa City Crowne Plaza Hotel
Convenient hotel just in front of Kanazawa Station
Reserve through Agoda or Booking Dormy Inn Kanazawa
Good value business hotel with onsen next to Kanazawa Station
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Convenient hotel located in the center of Kanazawa
Reserve through Booking Nikko Kanazawa Hotel
One of the best hotels in town, located just in front of Kanazawa Station
Reserve through Agoda or Booking