Kanazawa Castle

Kanazawa Castle is a partially restored castle located in the city of Kanazawa, in Ishikawa prefecture. Found within the Kanazawa Castle Park, the Kanazawa Castle is a historic landmark with origins dating back to the late 16th century. It served as the headquarters of the powerful Maeda clan, one of the wealthiest feudal families in Japan, for around 300 years. 

Like many of Japan’s castles, Kanazawa Castle is the ruins of the former original castle. Kanazawa Castle unfortunately has faced numerous fires which have destroyed large parts of the castle. Many of the structures in Kanazawa Castle park is reconstructions of the original castle. However, the Ishikawa-mon Gate, found at the south-east side of the Kanazawa Castle Park is one of the remaining original structures. The Ishikawa-mon is also the closet access point to the famous Kenroku-en gardens.  

The first of the reconstructed buildings were the Hish and Tsuzuku Yagura, two turrets that line the castle walls, as well as the Gojukken Nagaya, a long storehouse. These were rebuilt to resemble their 1850’s appearance, and were opened in 2001. Later on, the Hashizume-mon gate was added in 2015. Today, you can visit the storehouse and the turrets for a small fee. Inside you can find a small museum which showcases the building techniques, models, and various displays showing the castles construction and life.