is the capital
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. , the city had an estimated
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
of 990 persons per km
2. The total area of the city was .
Overview
Cityscape
File:もてなしドーム3.jpg, Kanazawa Station
is a major railway station in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West), the private railway operator Hokuriku Railroad, and the third-sector operator IR Ishikawa Railway.
Beneath a square in front of the JR ...
(2013)
File:Omichoichibakan004.jpg, Ōmichō-Market(Ōmichō-Ichiba)(2013)
File:Kanazawa view from Utatsuyama Park.jpg, Skyline
A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land.
City skylines ...
of Kanazawa City(2017)
File:Cityscape at downtown Kanazawa.jpg, CBD of Kanazawa
File:Katamachi Crossing.jpg, Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
of Katamachi Area (2022)
Geography
![Kanazawa view from Utatsuyama Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Kanazawa_view_from_Utatsuyama_Park.jpg)
Kanazawa is located in north-western Ishikawa Prefecture in the
Hokuriku region
The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern ...
of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and is bordered by the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
to the west and
Toyama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...
to the east. The city sits between the
Sai and
Asano rivers. The eastern portion of the city is dominated by the
Japanese Alps
The is a series of mountain ranges in Japan which bisect the main island of Honshu. The peaks that tower over central Honshu have long been the object of veneration and pilgrimage. These mountains had long been exploited by local people for raw m ...
. Parts of the city are within the borders of the
Hakusan National Park
is a national park in the Chūbu region of Honshū, Japan. Established in 1962, it spans the borders of Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, and Toyama prefectures. Its main geographical feature is Mount Haku. In 1980 an area of 480 km² corresponding to ...
.
Climate
Kanazawa has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by hot, humid summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. Average temperatures are slightly cooler than those of Tokyo, with means approximately in January, in April, in August, in October, and in December. The lowest temperature on record was on January 27, 1904, with a maximum of standing as a record since September 8, 1902. The city is distinctly wet, with an average humidity of 73% and 193 rainy days in an average year. Precipitation is highest in the autumn and winter; it averages more than / month November through January when the
Aleutian Low
The Aleutian Low is a semi-permanent low-pressure system located near the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea during the Northern Hemisphere winter. It is a climatic feature centered near the Aleutian Islands measured based on mean sea-level press ...
is strongest, but it is above every month of the year.
Neighbouring municipalities
;
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...
*
Hakusan
*
Nonoichi
*
Uchinada
*
Tsubata
;
Toyama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...
*
Oyabe
*
Nanto
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Kanazawa has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.
History
The name "Kanazawa" (, ), which literally means "marsh of gold", is said to derive from the legend of the peasant Imohori Togoro (literally "Togoro Potato-digger"), who was digging for potatoes when flakes of gold washed up.
The well in the grounds of
Kenroku-en
Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden), located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, is an old private garden. Along with Kairaku-en and Kōraku-en, Kenroku-en is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. The grounds are open year-round except ...
known as to acknowledge these roots. The area where Kanazawa is was originally known as Ishiura, whose name is preserved at the Ishiura Shrine near the Kenrokuen.
Origins
The area around Kanazawa was part of ancient
Kaga Province
was a province of Japan in the area that is today the south and western portion of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbr ...
.
File:チカモリ遺跡 環状木柱 - panoramio.jpg, Chikamori Site
The is an archaeological site with the ruins of a late Jōmon period settlement in what is now the Shinbohon neighbourhood of the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It was designated a National Historic Site of Japan ...
Middle Ages
;Muromachi period
During the
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
(1336 to 1573), as the powers of the central
shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
s in
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
was waning, Kaga Province came under the control of the
Ikkō-ikki
were rebellious or autonomous groups of people that were formed in several regions of Japan in the 15th-16th centuries; backed up by the power of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, they opposed the rule of governors or ''daimyō''. Mainly con ...
, followers of the teachings of priest
Rennyo
Rennyo (, 1415–1499) was the 8th Monshu (head priest) of the Hongan-ji Temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, and descendant of founder Shinran. Jodo Shinshu Buddhists often referred to as the restorer of the sect ( in Japanese). He w ...
, of the
Jōdo Shinshū
, also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran.
Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.
History
Shinran ( ...
sect, who displaced the official governors of the province, the Togashi clan, and established a kind of theocratic republic later known as "
The Peasants' Kingdom".
Their principal stronghold was the Kanazawa Gobo, on the tip of the Kodatsuno Ridge.
Backed by high hills and flanked on two sides by rivers, it was a natural fortress, around which a
castle town
A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...
developed. This was the start of what would become the city of Kanazawa.
;Sengoku period
In 1580, during the
Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
(1467 to 1615),
Oda Nobunaga
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan.
Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...
sent
Shibata Katsuie
or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period.
He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought in the 1575 Battle of Nagashino an ...
, and his general
Sakuma Morimasa
was the son of Sakuma Moritsugu, cousin of Sakuma Nobumori, a prominent Oda retainer to Oda Nobuhide and Oda Nobunaga. After several campaigns in which he had fought, he was given the nickname ''oni-genba'' which literally means "Demon Genba", G ...
, to conquer the Kaga
Ikko-ikki.
After overthrowing the "Peasant's Kingdom", Morimasa was awarded the province as his fief.
However, after the assassination of Oda Nobunaga in 1582, he was displaced by
Maeda Toshiie
was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...
, who founded
Kaga Domain
The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871. .
At the
Battle of Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...
in 1600, Maeda sided with
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...
and thus was able to further enlarge his holdings to a massive 1.2 million ''
koku
The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...
'' — by far the largest
feudal domain
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
within the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
.
The
Maeda clan
was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan of Sugawara no Kiyotomo and Suga ...
continued to rule Kaga Domain from
Kanazawa Castle
is a large, partially-restored Japanese castle in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located adjacent to the celebrated Kenroku-en Garden, which once formed the castle's private outer garden. It was the headquarters of Kaga Domain, rule ...
through the end of the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
.
File:Bronze statue of Rennyo Syonin.jpg, Rennyo
Rennyo (, 1415–1499) was the 8th Monshu (head priest) of the Hongan-ji Temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, and descendant of founder Shinran. Jodo Shinshu Buddhists often referred to as the restorer of the sect ( in Japanese). He w ...
File:佐久間玄蕃盛政.png, Sakuma Morimasa
was the son of Sakuma Moritsugu, cousin of Sakuma Nobumori, a prominent Oda retainer to Oda Nobuhide and Oda Nobunaga. After several campaigns in which he had fought, he was given the nickname ''oni-genba'' which literally means "Demon Genba", G ...
File:Statue of Maeda Toshiie in Kanazawa - Detail - 2016-04-16.jpg, Maeda Toshiie
was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...
Early Modern Ages
;Edo period
Maeda Toshiie and his successors greatly enlarged Kanazawa Castle and carefully planned the layout of the surrounding
jōkamachi
The term refers to a type of urban structures in Japan in which the city surrounds a feudal lord's castle. These cities did not necessarily form around castles after the Edo period; some are known as Jin'yamachi, cities that have evolved around J ...
to meet strategic and defensive concerns. On April 14, 1631, a fire consumed much of the city, including the castle. In 1632
Maeda Toshitsune
was an early-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 2nd ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan, and the 3rd hereditary chieftain of the Maeda clan. Toshitsune was a brother of Maeda Toshinaga and a son of Maeda Toshiie. He was ...
ordered the construction of a canal to bring water from the upper
Sai River to the castle to alleviate a water shortage problem. Water was drawn from far upstream, and channeled through kilometres of canals and pipes carefully laid at a 750:1 slope for about to the castle. The water was fed to the castle under the moat that lay between it and what is now Kenrokuen by an artesian well. The large lake in
Kenrokuen
Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden), located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, is an old private garden. Along with Kairaku-en and Kōraku-en, Kenroku-en is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. The grounds are open year-round except ...
, Kasumi-ga-Ike, acted as an emergency supply. Local legend has it that the lake has a plug, which could be pulled to increase the water in the moats. The series of moats were laid out in the early seventeenth century. Initially they were dry, but later connected to the rivers. The Inner Moat was dug in only 27 days, and averaged about four to five feet wide. The Outer Moat took a bit longer, and averages some six to nine feet in width. Though much of the Inner Moat has been filled in, large sections of the Outer Moat remain. The earth removed from the moat was piled into ridges along the inner side, as an added defence measure.
Before the Maeda clan arrived in Kanazawa, the town had a population of only 5,000. However, thanks to Maeda efforts, that number rose quickly. By 1700, Kanazawa rivaled Rome, Amsterdam, and Madrid in size with its population of over 100,000. The Maeda summoned samurai retainers to live in Kanazawa and offered a set of incentives to attract the artisans and merchants needed to support the samurai population. Chartered merchants and artisans received economic, social, and political privileges in exchange for moving to the city: they were guaranteed business, exempt from certain taxes, and given pieces of land for shops and residences. These merchants and artisans were at the top of the
chōnin
was a social class that emerged in Japan during the early years of the Tokugawa period. In the social hierarchy, it was considered subordinate to the samurai warrior class.
Social Class
The ''chōnin'' emerged in ''joka-machi'' or castle ...
, or townsman, social class.
Other merchants and artisans, who made up the rest of the ''chōnin'', came without such promises. Some were first hired as servants for samurai or wealthy merchant families and decided to stay in the city even after their contracts expired, though most moved to Kanazawa for no reason other than the commercial opportunities the city presented. The government further facilitated growth by responding to the needs of these newcomers with projects like the Sai River Project. Because the Sai River split in two and the castle was located in the center, a part of the riverbed was unusable. In the 1610s, the construction project diverted the secondary stream into the main river, thus creating usable land, where four new wards opened for ''chōnin'' settlement. Some of these poorer merchants became successful enough to compete with chartered merchants for city administration positions, but many supported themselves by making and selling low cost goods, such as umbrellas and straw sandals, for mass consumption. This signifies that the commoner population of Kanazawa began to generate its own consumption demands, thus stimulating even more growth.
Kanazawa flourished largely because of a mutually beneficial relationship between the ''daimyō'' and the ''chōnin''. The samurai relied on merchants and artisans for goods and services, while the ''chōnin'' were able to thrive because of the protection that the ''daimyō'' provided. Coming out of the
Sengoku Period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
, castle towns were particularly appealing because of their security and defenses. Kanazawa's growth was indicative of a larger trend in Japan from 1580 to 1700:
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
. In those 120 years, the population of the country nearly doubled, reaching approximately 30,000,000, and the percentage of people living in urban towns of more than 10,000 residents grew more than tenfold. Kanazawa continued to grow until 1710, when the ''chōnin'' population reached 64,987, and the city's total reached approximately 120,000. The population then stabilized. It is important to note that much of the economic and population growth in Kanazawa, as well as in other Japanese castle towns, occurred during Japan's closed country policy (''
sakoku
was the Isolationism, isolationist Foreign policy of Japan, foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, for a period of 265 years during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countri ...
''). Beginning in the 1630s, Japan had little or no influence from other countries. However, this phase was clearly not a sign of backwardness or decline. The growth that Japan experienced while operating under ''sakoku'' policy was largely possible because of castle towns such as Kanazawa. They facilitated growth in a way that did not require foreign influence, thus contributing to the success and stability of Japan at the time.
The vast wealth of the Maeda was channeled into arts and crafts, rather than military pursuits, and Kanazawa became the centre of the "Million-koku Culture", which helped ease suspicions held by the shogunate over the domain's wealth and the status of its ''daimyō'' as an "Outer Lord" or ''
Tozama daimyō
was a class of powerful magnates or ''daimyō'' (大名) considered to be outsiders by the ruler of Japan.Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, ''Tozama daimyō'' were classified in the Tokugawa Shogunate (江戸幕府) as ''daimyō'' w ...
''. The third ''daimyō''
Maeda Toshitsune
was an early-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 2nd ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan, and the 3rd hereditary chieftain of the Maeda clan. Toshitsune was a brother of Maeda Toshinaga and a son of Maeda Toshiie. He was ...
, formed the "Kaga Workmanship Office" and promoted lacquer and gold-and-lacquer-work; and the fifth ''daimyō'',
Maeda Tsunanori
was an Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 4th ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan. He was the 5th hereditary chieftain of the Kanazawa Maeda clan. His childhood name was "Inuchiyo" (犬千代).
Biography
Tsunanori wa ...
, collected works of art and artisans from all over the country. Kanazawa was one of the largest cities in Japan throughout the Edo period.
File:Kanazawa Kanazawa-jo Sakura 06.jpg, Kanazawa Castle
is a large, partially-restored Japanese castle in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located adjacent to the celebrated Kenroku-en Garden, which once formed the castle's private outer garden. It was the headquarters of Kaga Domain, rule ...
File:Kenroku En Garden Sunrise (119192189).jpeg, Kenroku-en
Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden), located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, is an old private garden. Along with Kairaku-en and Kōraku-en, Kenroku-en is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. The grounds are open year-round except ...
File:長町武家屋敷跡004.jpg, Nagamachi Buke Yashiki District
File:Kazue Machi (119970569).jpeg, Kazue Machi
File:Higashi Chaya District (50154603457).jpg, Higashiyamahigashi(Higashi-Chaya)
File:Nishichayagai003.jpg, Nishi Chaya-gai(Nishi-Chaya)
Late Modern Ages
;Meiji period
Following the
Meiji restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
, the modern city of Kanazawa was created on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.
The borders of the city gradually expanded by annexing neighbouring towns and villages bringing the area of the city from its initial 10.40 square kilometers to its present 468.64 square kilometers.
File:The Forth High School Memorial Museum of Cultural Exchange Ishikawa05s3s3750.jpg, The Fourth High School Memorial Museum of Cultural Exchange, Ishikawa
File:Ishikawa-ken History Museum03s3s4272b.jpg, Ishikawa Prefectural History Museum
is a prefectural museum in Kanazawa, Japan, dedicated to the history and culture of Ishikawa Prefecture. The three ICP red brick buildings date to 1909-14 and functioned first as the local arsenal, then after the Pacific War as the Kanazawa Coll ...
File:Kanazawa Literary Hall.jpg, Kanazawa Literary Hall
Contemporary Ages
;Heisei period
On April 1, 1996, Kanazawa was proclaimed a
Core city
In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city i ...
with increased local autonomy.
Government
Kanazawa has a
mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
city legislature of 38 members. Since March 2022 the mayor is Takahasi Murayama. His predecessor was Yukiyoshi Yamano who had been mayor since December 2010. Yamano resigned to run for the seat of governor of Ishikawa prefecture.
The city is the seat of the Ishikawa Prefectural Assembly, and contributes 16 of the 43 members of that body.
In terms of national politics, the city forms the Ishikawa 1st District with one seat in the
lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
of the
Diet of Japan
The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...
.
External relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Kanazawa is
twinned with the following cities:
International
;Sister Cities
Economy
Kanazawa is a regional commercial centre and transportation hub for Ishikawa Prefecture. It remains noted for its traditional handicrafts industry, including the production of
Kutani ware
is a style of Japanese porcelain traditionally supposed to be from Kutani, now a part of Kaga, Ishikawa, in the former Kaga Province. It is divided into two phases: ''Ko-Kutani'' (old Kutani), from the 17th and early 18th centuries, and ''Sai ...
ceramics, and is a major tourist destination.
Education
Universities and colleges
*
Kanazawa University
Kanazawa University ( ja, 金沢大学, Kanazawa Daigaku, abbreviated to ja, 金大, Kindai) is a Japanese national university in the city of Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture. Founded in 1862, it was chartered as a university in 194 ...
is a large
national university
A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state.
Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...
that traces its history back to the founding of a small medical school in 1862. Its immediate predecessor was the Fourth Upper High School, one of the elite preparatory schools for the
Imperial Universities
The were founded by the Empire of Japan between 1886 and 1939, seven in Mainland Japan (now Japan), one in Korea under Japanese rule (now the Republic of Korea) and one in Taiwan under Japanese rule (now Taiwan). They were run by the imperial gove ...
before the war. Many prominent politicians and other notables were graduates of 'Shiko', as it was known.
*
Kanazawa College of Art
The Kanazawa College of Art (金沢美術工芸大学, ''Kanazawa Bijutsu Kōgei Daigaku'', literally Kanazawa Art and Industrial Design University) (colloquially known as Bidai or Kanabi) is a public university in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
A ...
, a public university operated by the city government
*
Hokuriku University
, abbreviated as is a private university in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan. The university is locally nicknamed ''Hokudai'', though typically the term is used nationwide to refer to Hokkaido University.
History
Founded in 1975, it was founded as a ...
a private liberal arts college with a business management department specializing in foreign languages and a School of Pharmacy
*
Kanazawa Seiryo University
is a private University
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate prog ...
, a private business and education university
*
Kanazawa Gakuin University
is a private university in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of J ...
, private liberal arts college
*
Hokuriku Gakuin University Hokuriku may refer to:
* ''Hokuriku'' (train), a sleeping car train in Japan
* Hokuriku Shinkansen
The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), ...
, a private Christian university which celebrated the 125th anniversary of its founding in 2010, with associated junior college
*
Kanazawa Gakuin College, a private junior college
*
Seiryo Women's Junior College, a private women's junior college
Primary and secondary education
Kanazawa has 58 public elementary schools operated by the city government and one public elementary school operated by the national government (associated with Kanazawa University) and one private elementary school.
The city has 25 public middle schools operated by the city government, one public combined middle/high school operated by the Ishikawa Prefectural Board of Education, one public combined middle/high school operated by the national government (associated with Kanazawa University) and two private combined middle/high schools.
Aside from the above combined middle/high schools, Kanazawa has 11 public high schools operated by the Ishikawa Prefectural Board of Education, one public industrial high school operated by the city government and four private high schools.
Ishikawa Prefecture also operates five special education schools in Kanazawa.
Transport
![Estacion Kanazawa Japon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Estacion_Kanazawa_Japon.jpg)
Airways
Airport
The nearest airport is
Komatsu Airport
is an international airport located west southwest of Komatsu Station in the city of Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the largest airport in the Hokuriku region and serves the southern portion of Ishikawa Prefecture including the ca ...
in the city of
Komatsu.
Railways
Kanazawa is served by the
JR West
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
Hokuriku Main Line
The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwee ...
and the
Hokuriku Railroad
The is a transportation company in Kanazawa, Japan. The company or its lines are commonly known as . The company was founded in 1943, when all the private railway and bus operators in Ishikawa Prefecture were merged into one. Some of its lin ...
. Since 14 March 2015, the city is also served by the
Hokuriku Shinkansen
The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...
, shortening the trip from Tokyo to Kanazawa to around 2 and a half hours. With the opening of the Shinkansen line in March 2015, part of the Hokuriku Main Line which was formerly operated by JR West was separated and operated by the
third-sector company
IR Ishikawa Railway
The is a Japanese third-sector railway company established in 2012 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the JR West Hokuriku Main Line within Ishikawa Prefecture. The main line was separated from the JR West network on 14 Ma ...
.
High-speed rail
;
![Shinkansen blue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Shinkansen_blue.png)
West Japan Railway Company
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
(JR West)
*
Hokuriku Shinkansen
The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...
:- -
Conventional lines
;
![JR logo (west)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/JR_logo_%28west%29.svg)
West Japan Railway Company
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...
(JR West)
*
Hokuriku Main Line
The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwee ...
:- - -
;
![Ir ishikawa logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Ir_ishikawa_logo.png)
IR Ishikawa Railway
The is a Japanese third-sector railway company established in 2012 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the JR West Hokuriku Main Line within Ishikawa Prefecture. The main line was separated from the JR West network on 14 Ma ...
(IR)
*
Ishikawa Railway:- - - -
;
22pxHokuriku Railroad
The is a transportation company in Kanazawa, Japan. The company or its lines are commonly known as . The company was founded in 1943, when all the private railway and bus operators in Ishikawa Prefecture were merged into one. Some of its lin ...
(Hokutetsu)
*
Asanogawa Line: - - - - - - - - -
*
Ishikawa Line: - - -
Roads
Expressway
*
Hokuriku Expressway
The ,
(abbreviated as , is a 4-laned national expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company and Central Nippon Expressway Company.
Overview
The first section was opened in 1972 by Japan Highway Public Corpo ...
*Noto Satoyama Expressway
Japan National Route
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Seaways
Seaport
*
Port of Kanazawa
Local attractions
![2002 kenrokuen hanami 0029](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/2002_kenrokuen_hanami_0029.jpg)
Kanazawa was one of the few major Japanese cities to be spared destruction by
air raids during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and as a result, much of Kanazawa's considerable architectural heritage has been preserved.
Kenrokuen Garden is by far the most famous part of Kanazawa. Originally built as the outer garden of
Kanazawa Castle
is a large, partially-restored Japanese castle in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located adjacent to the celebrated Kenroku-en Garden, which once formed the castle's private outer garden. It was the headquarters of Kaga Domain, rule ...
, it was opened to the public in 1875. It is considered one of the "
three great gardens of Japan
The , also known as "the three most famous gardens in Japan" are considered to include Kenroku-en in Kanazawa, Kōraku-en in Okayama and Kairaku-en in Mito.
The conception of gardens in a group of three is found elsewhere, for example, in the thr ...
" and is filled with a variety of trees, ponds, waterfalls and flowers stretching over ). In winter, the park is notable for its
yukitsuri
''Yukitsuri'' (Japanese: 雪つり) is a Japanese technique for preserving trees and shrubs from heavy snow. Trees are given extra support by bamboo poles with ropes attached to limbs; whereas, shrubs are often tied tightly around the circumferen ...
ropes attached in a conical array to trees to support the branches under the weight of the heavy wet snow, thereby protecting the trees from damage.
Outside Kenrokuen is the Ishikawa-mon, the back gate to Kanazawa Castle. The original castle was largely destroyed by fire in 1888 but has been partially restored.
The Seisonkaku Villa was built in 1863 by
Maeda Nariyasu
was an Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 12th ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan. He was the 13th hereditary lord of the Kanazawa Maeda clan.
Biography
Nariyasu was born in Kanazawa in 1811, (13th ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domin) for his mother, Takako. It was originally called Tatsumi Goten (Tatsumi Palace). Much of it has been dismantled, but what remains is one of the most elegant remaining feudal lord villas in Japan. The villa stands in a corner of Kenrokuen; separate admission fees apply. Notable features are the vividly coloured walls of the upper floor, with purple or red walls and dark-blue ceilings (red walls—''benigara''—are a Kanazawa tradition), and the custom-made English carpet in the audience chamber.
The
Oyama-jinja shrine, which is considered an
Important Cultural Property, is also in Kanazawa. It is noted for its imposing three-story Shinmon gate influenced by Dutch design, built in 1875, with its brightly coloured stained-glass windows.
Kanazawa's
Myōryūji Temple also known as the ''Ninja-dera'' (Ninja Temple) is an amalgamation of traditional temple architecture, hidden doors, passageways, and hidden escape routes. Local legend has it that the temple, with its hidden doors and passageways, was intended as a secret refuge for the local rulers in the case of an external threat.
Mount Utatsu gives a commanding view of the city of Kanazawa.
Toyokuni Shrine , alternately read Hōkoku Shrine (''Hōkoku-jinja''), refers to a number of Shinto shrines in Japan dedicated to kampaku and ruler of Japan Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The two names are different readings of the same ''kanji'' and are used interchangeabl ...
,
Utatsu Shrine (a
Tenman-gū), and
Atago Shrine, known together as the Mount Utatsu Three Shrines, are found on the mountain. A monument to author
Shūsei Tokuda
was a Japanese writer.
Life
Tokuda was born in Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture. Coming from a family of the former feudal nobility, Tokuda began his literary life as a follower of the writer Ozaki Kōyō, who was four years his senior and h ...
is located near the summit.
Traditional architecture
Kanazawa boasts numerous
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
(1603–1867) former
geisha houses in the Higashi Geisha District, across the
Asano river
Asano (written: 浅野, or hiragana あさの) is a Japanese language surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Asano clan, samurai family in feudal Japan.
** Asano Naganori, Important historical figure title: Takumi no Kami
** Asano ...
(with its old stone bridge) out from central Kanazawa. Nearby is the Yougetsu Minshuku which sits at one end of one of the most photographed streets in Japan. This area retains the look and feel of pre-modern Japan, its two-story wooden façades plain and austere. The effect is accentuated by the early morning mist. At night, the street is lit by recreated
Taishō-period streetlamp.
Houses were taxed on the width of the frontage, leading to the development of many long, thin houses. Unlike samurai houses, they were built right up to the road and directly abutted their neighbours. They were two-storied, though the upper floor was used mainly for storage, particularly at the front of the house, above the shop area. One feature of Kanazawa merchant houses is the long earth corridor that runs from the front door to the rear of the house. This was usually on one side, and the rooms opened off it. The typical merchant's house, would have the shop area, then a couple of inner rooms, with the most important room at the back, facing the inner garden. Beyond that was the kitchen area, and at the rear of the house would be a thick-walled fireproof storehouse.
Though very few from the Edo period remain, the basic style remained unchanged until the World War II. One notable feature of the design is the 'sode-utatsu' wings extending forward on the sides of the upper floor. Their exact purpose is not certain, but one theory is that they were wind blockers, which is logical given Kanazawa's weather. Snow was also a significant factor in house design. The roofs sloped into a central garden that was designed to allow snow to collect as much as to provide light to the rear. While the sea of black-glazed tiles sparkling in the sun is a common tourist image of Kanazawa today, the traditional architectural style used wooden boards held down by stones. Due to the heavy snowfalls of the Japan Sea coast, traditional tiles were considered to be too heavy. The use of tiles on the frontage and boards under the eaves is to prevent snow damage.
Samurai areas
Large-scale reorganization of the samurai areas took place in 1611. Areas had been ordained by income. As the total income of the domain had increased fourfold in the past couple of decades, there was some reorganization to be done. And room had to be found for the 14 families with incomes over 3,000 ''
koku
The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...
'' and their retainers, not to mention the large number of samurai who arrived from
Takaoka (in Toyama Prefecture) with Maeda Toshitsune, the third lord, when he took up his position. The richest families were moved out of the castle and given massive estates throughout the city. Their own retainers were housed in huge complexes nearby. The most notable example in Kanazawa is Honda-machi, where the retainers of the rich and powerful Honda family lived, in what was almost a town within a town.
In most cases, even with large fiefs like Sendai and Satsuma, samurai tended to live on their own land. But in Kaga all samurai, regardless of income, lived in Kanazawa. When Kanazawa was finished in more or less its final form in the late 17th century, over three-quarters of it was samurai housing. Nearest the castle were the huge estates of the Eight Houses (chief vassals) and their own retainers. For every 100 koku of income, a samurai was given about 550 square metres of land, and average of the "middle-class" samurai was 800, which is huge compared to modern Japanese housing. The richest vassal family, the Hondas, had a 50,000 ''koku'' income. The minimum for ''daimyo'' level was 10,000 ''koku'', and apart from the Eight Houses, some twelve families had incomes in excess of this. Kanazawa was filled with huge mansions.
Size and location of samurai housing was determined by income and standing. The richest and most powerful samurai in Kanazawa had their own men, often hundreds of them, who were housed in large areas that usually adjoined the main house. Samurai houses shared a similar basic pattern: a single-floored residence, usually fairly square or rectangular in plan, surrounded by a garden both the vegetable and the decorative kinds. The roof was gabled and faced the road. The boundary wall was usually made of beaten earth, topped with tiles. There are a number of them around in the city, most notably in the Nagamachi area. The size and height of the wall and the entry gate were also dictated by rank. Samurai over 400 ''koku'' in income had a stable gate, used to house guards and horses.
Though the Nagamachi area is promoted in the tourist brochures as the 'samurai area', the overwhelming majority of the houses are not samurai houses, but modern post-war housing. There are very few genuine samurai houses in Kanazawa. (This is because after the Meiji Restoration the samurai found themselves bereft of their traditional income, and many of them ended up selling off their estates, which were turned into fields before being redeveloped as modern housing before World War II.)
Temple areas
![Kanazawa Tsurugimichi 20160618a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Kanazawa_Tsurugimichi_20160618a.jpg)
One distinctive aspect of Kanazawa, and other castle towns, is the clustering of temples near the entrances. When Kanazawa was ruled by the
Ikkō, the temples were all
Jōdo Shinshū
, also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran.
Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.
History
Shinran ( ...
, the Ikkō sect. After the ''Ikkō'' were defeated, other sects moved in:
Sōtō
Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān L ...
,
Shingon
file:Koyasan (Mount Koya) monks.jpg, Shingon monks at Mount Koya
is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks suc ...
,
Hokke, Ji, etc. They were placed in their present locations by around 1616. In the
Teramachi ("temple town" area), they were lined up side by side along a long straight road leading to the foot of
Nodayama. Defensive purposes have often been argued for this type of planning, and it is true that the wide spaces, thick walls, and large halls of temples were able to be used as emergency fortifications. However, to what extent this influenced the layout is not certain. It was, in Kanazawa's case at least, never put to the test.
On the other side of town, the
Utatsuyama temple district, at the foot of the hill of the same name, has smaller temples and twisty roads.
Geisha areas
![Higashiyamahigashi 2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Higashiyamahigashi_2015.JPG)
Kanazawa had a further expansion in 1661, when many samurai who had followed their retired Lord Toshitsune to his villa at
Komatsu returned after his death. They built houses on the fringes of the city, with street layouts almost totally unplanned. These areas are some of the most labyrinthine parts of the city, but this was not done for defensive purposes. By this time, peace was quite firmly secured. To alleviate crowding from the continual (illegal) inflow of peasants and other migrants, residents were permitted to rent land from neighbouring farmers. These areas are some of the most convoluted, as the roads were laid out on the old winding paths through the fields.
Thus Kanazawa attained the form that it kept for the rest of the Edo period — even now the majority of roads in the old city are little changed in form from two centuries ago. The only major change was the creation of 'geisha districts' (
hanamachi
A is a district where geisha live and work in Japan. Each typically has its own name, crest, and distinct geisha population, with geisha not typically working outside of their own district. usually contain (geisha houses) and (teahouses whe ...
) at the foot of Utatsuyama and over the Sai River in 1820, to control and regulate pleasure houses and prostitutes (bath-girls: 湯女). However, conservative factions regained control of the Kaga government, and the geisha districts were abolished a decade later. The districts were made legal again just before the Meiji Restoration, and stayed that way until prostitution was officially outlawed in 1954. The geisha areas were out of bounds to samurai; they were patronised by rich merchants and artisans, who would compete with each other to spend the most money on parties.
The geisha house, or 'tea house' as it is commonly called, is superficially similar to the merchant houses (in the same way the samurai houses are superficially similar to farmhouses). However, unlike the merchant houses, where the second floor at the front was for storage, and thus very low, the second story of tea houses are much higher, because the upper floor was used as the main entertaining area.
The upper floors are faced with sliding wooden shutters which would be open in the day or when there was a party going on. The bottom floor is faced with the unique, extremely fine latticework that is known as 'Kaga lattice'. The standard of décor was far higher than most merchant houses, at least to the extent allowed by the Sumptuary Laws that the Shogunate passed. Due in part to the long gloomy winters, Kaga décor is far brighter than the drab earth browns and greens and ochres of Kyoto style: bold bright scarlets (''benigara'': 紅柄) and ultramarines were popular. The upper floor of the Seisonkaku Villa in Kenrokuen is particularly boldly decorated, with purple and black walls as well.
Culture
Hyakumangoku Matsuri and
Asano-gawa Enyukai are the major festivals held in Kanazawa.
''Kanazawa-haku'' is gold that is beaten into a paper-like sheet.
Gold leaf
Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...
plays a prominent part in the city's cultural crafts, to the extent that there is the
Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum
The Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum ( ja, 1=金沢市立安江金箔工芸館) is a museum about gold leaf in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.
History
The museum was originally founded in 1974 by a local craftsman Yasue Takaaki in Kitayasu ...
. It is found throughout Kanazawa and Ishikawa; Kanazawa produces 99% of Japan's high-quality gold leaf. The gold leaf that covers the famous
Golden Pavilion in Kyoto was produced in Kanazawa. Gold leaf is even put into food. The city is famous for tea with gold flakes, which is considered by the Japanese people to be good for health and vitality. Kanazawa lacquerware (''Kanazawa shikki''), a high-quality lacquerware traditionally decorated with gold dust, is also well known.
'Cultural landscape in Kanazawa. Tradition and culture in the castle town' has been designated an
Important Cultural Landscape.
Local cuisine
Kanazawa is known for its traditional Kaga Cuisine, with seafood a specialty. The ''
sake
Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...
'' produced in this region, derived from the rice grown in
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...
with the considerable precipitation of the
Hokuriku region
The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern ...
, allowing for an ample supply of clean, fresh water is considered to be of high quality. Omicho market is a market in the middle of the city, originally open-air, and now covered, which dates back to the Edo period. Most of the shops there sell seafood.
Popular Food and Drink in Kanazawa include:
*
Wagashi
are traditional Japanese confections that are often served with green tea, especially the types made of ''mochi'', ''anko'' (azuki bean paste), and fruit. ''Wagashi'' are typically made from plant-based ingredients.
History
In Japan, the wor ...
(Japanese confections) of Kanazawa - ''Admired for its ability to be sampled by the 5 senses of taste, smell, touch, sight and hearing.''
*
Jibuni - ''A dish that matches duck with a thick soup. It symbolizes Kanazawa''
* Kanazawa
Sake
Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...
- ''Refined sake from the region.''
* Kaga Vegetables - ''Premium vegetables supporting the traditional cuisine of old Kanazawa.''
* Kaburazushi - ''A traditional fermented dish that has existed since the Edo Era''
Notable people
Politicians and public servants
*
Nobuyuki Abe
was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, Governor-General of Korea, and Prime Minister of Japan.
Early life and military career
Abe was born on November 24, 1875, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, the son of former samurai Abe Nobumitsu. H ...
(36th
Prime Minister of Japan
The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...
)
*
Takuo Godō
was a naval architect, vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, entrepreneur and cabinet minister in the pre-war Empire of Japan.
Background
Godō was born in Tokyo to an ex-medical doctor (goten-i) family. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial ...
(Vice admiral in the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
)
*
Yoichi Hatta
was a Japanese engineer, known for his contributions in hydraulic engineering in the Japanese-ruled Taiwan. Hatta was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa. After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University in 1910, he joined the Seat of Governor-General ...
(Engineer of
Governor-General of Taiwan
The governor-general of Taiwan ( ja, 臺灣總督, Taiwan Sōtoku) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945.
The Jap ...
)
*
Hayakawa Senkichirō (Politician, President of
South Manchuria Railway
The South Manchuria Railway ( ja, 南満州鉄道, translit=Minamimanshū Tetsudō; ), officially , Mantetsu ( ja, 満鉄, translit=Mantetsu) or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operatio ...
)
*
Senjūrō Hayashi
was a Japanese politician and general. He served as Imperial Japanese Army Commander of the Japanese Korean Army during the Mukden Incident and the invasion of Manchuria. He briefly served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1937.
Early life
Hayas ...
(33rd Prime Minister of Japan)
*
Tetsuo Kutsukake
is a Japanese politician. He was named Minister of State, Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission (Japan), National Public Safety Commission on October 31, 2005.
Sources
http://www.senkyo.janjan.jp/bin/candidate/profile/profile.p ...
(Cabinet minister)
*
Ryūtarō Nagai (Cabinet minister)
*
Nakahashi Tokugorō
was a businessman, politician and cabinet minister in Taishō and early Shōwa period Japan. After serving as president of Osaka Shōsen Shipping Company (OSK Lines), he entered politics and later served as a cabinet minister.
Biography
Nakah ...
(Cabinet minister)
*
Naoki Okada
is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Kanazawa, Ishikawa and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he had worked at Hokkoku Shimbun, a regi ...
(Politician)
Business people
*
Inokuchi Ariya (Founder of
Ebara Corporation
Ebara Corporation is a publicly traded manufacturing company based in Tokyo, Japan which makes environmental and industrial machinery such as pumps and turbines. It is the owner of the Elliott Company in the United States and Sumoto S.r.l. in It ...
)
*
Takaaki Kidani
is a Japanese video game developer and entrepreneur born in Kanazawa, Japan. He is the founder and representative director of Bushiroad. Kidani has also served as the chairman of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He continues to be involved with N ...
(Founder and President of
Bushiroad
is a Japanese entertainment company, producer of collectible card games and trading cards, publisher of mobile apps and games, promotional items and many other venues, which was founded in 2007 by Takaaki Kidani and is headquartered in Tokyo. ...
)
*
Shitagau Noguchi (Founder of Nichitsu
zaibatsu
is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signi ...
)
*
Masatsune Ogura
was a Japanese politician and business man. In 1930 he became the president of Sumitomo Group. During his period as president the company developed into a zaibatsu. The Ogura family served as retainers for the Nishio Clan which held possessi ...
(President of
Sumitomo Group
The is one of the largest Japanese ''keiretsu'', or business groups, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) around 1615 during the early Edo period.
History
The Sumitomo Group traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by Masa ...
)
Academics
*
Hisashi Kimura
was a Japanese astronomer originally from Kanazawa, Ishikawa.
He devoted his career to the study and measurement of variation in latitude, building upon the work of Seth Carlo Chandler, who discovered the Chandler wobble. In 1899, he became the ...
(Astronomer)
*
Yoshio Koide
is a Japanese theoretical physicist working in particle physics. Koide is famous for his eponymous Koide formula, which some physicists think has great importance but which other physicists contend is merely a mathematical coincidence, numerical c ...
(Physicist)
*
Miyake Setsurei
was a famous philosopher and author from Japan. He graduated from the University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Im ...
(Philosopher)
*
D. T. Suzuki
, self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...
(Scholar of
Zen Buddhism
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
)
*
Gaisi Takeuti
was a Japanese mathematician, known for his work in proof theory.
After graduating from Tokyo University, he went to Princeton to study under Kurt Gödel.
He later became a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Takeu ...
(Mathematician)
*
Yoshirō Taniguchi
was a Japanese architect. He was born in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. He was a graduate of Tokyo University Department of Architecture and professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology from 1929 - 1965. As an architect, he crea ...
(Architect)
Art and culture
*
Kyōka Izumi
, real name , was a Japanese people, Japanese author of novels, short stories, and kabuki plays who was active during the Empire of Japan, prewar period.
Kyōka's writing differed greatly from that of the naturalist writers who dominated the li ...
(Novelist)
*
Yasushi Kataoka
(4 June 1876 – 26 May 1946) was a Japanese architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings an ...
(Architect)
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Natsuo Kirino
(born October 7, 1951, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture) is the pen name of Mariko Hashioka, a Japanese novelist and a leading figure in the recent boom of female writers of Japanese detective fiction.
Biography
Kirino is the middle child of th ...
(Novelist)
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Murō Saisei (Novelist, Poet)
*
Shōgyo Ōba was a Japanese maki-e lacquer artist. He began practicing the art of maki-e lacquerware in Kanazawa in 1945. Shōgyo was named a Living National Treasure of Japan in 1982 for his expertise in maki-e lacquerware.
Shōgyo was born Ōba Katsuo on M ...
(
Maki-e
is a Japanese lacquer decoration technique in which pictures, patterns, and letters are drawn with lacquer on the surface of lacquerware, and then metal powder such as gold or silver is sprinkled and fixed on the surface of the lacquerware. The ...
lacquer
Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity.
Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...
artist,
Living National Treasure of Japan)
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Takumi Shibano
was a Japanese science-fiction translator and author. He was a major figure in fandom in Japan and contributed to establishing the Japanese science fiction genre.
A native of Kanazawa, Ishikawa, in 1957 Takumi started Japan's first successful sc ...
(Science-fiction translator and author)
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Yoshirō Taniguchi
was a Japanese architect. He was born in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. He was a graduate of Tokyo University Department of Architecture and professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology from 1929 - 1965. As an architect, he crea ...
(Architect)
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Shūsei Tokuda
was a Japanese writer.
Life
Tokuda was born in Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture. Coming from a family of the former feudal nobility, Tokuda began his literary life as a follower of the writer Ozaki Kōyō, who was four years his senior and h ...
(Novelist)
Media and artists
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Azumi Inoue
is a Japanese singer. She graduated from Yugakkan High School in Kanazawa. She is best known for singing the opening and ending theme songs for the Hayao Miyazaki film ''My Neighbor Totoro'': "Sanpo" and "My Neighbor Totoro". She is known for ha ...
(Singer)
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Tatsuya Isaka(Actor)
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Takeshi Kaga
, real name , is a well-known stage and movie actor in Japan who is best known internationally for his portrayal of Chairman Kaga in the Japanese television show ''Iron Chef'' produced by Fuji TV.
Biography
Kaga was born on October 12, 1950, i ...
(Actor)
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Toshiko Koshijima
is a Japanese singer. Along with composer, record producer and DJ Yasutaka Nakata, she is the lead vocalist of the electronica band Capsule, which she formed in 1997 with Nakata when they were both 17. Their formal debut came in 2001 with the ...
(Singer,
Capsule)
*
Yasutaka Nakata
is a Japanese DJ and music producer. He formed the band Capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and himself as composer and record producer when both were 17. The band debuted in 2001 with the song "Sakura".
He is known for being the ...
(Record Producer, Capsule)
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Mamiko Noto
> is a Japanese actress and singer. Some of her prominent anime roles include Kotomi Ichinose in ''Clannad'', Rin in ''Inuyasha'', Kotori Monou in '' X'', Aoi Kannazuki in ''Kaitō Tenshi Twin Angel'', Durandal in ''Honkai Impact 3rd'', Haru ...
(Voice Actress)
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Shun Shioya(Actor)
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Ryōko Shintani
is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Kanazawa, Ishikawa.Doi, Hitoshi.Shintani Ryouko. ''Seiyuu Database''. July 30, 2010Archivedby WebCite July 31, 2010.Nakagami, Yoshikattsu; Yoshida, Moichi; Onitsuka, Kanako; Nishimoto, Keiko. "Voice Actr ...
(Voice Actress)
*
Aya Suzaki
is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actress and narrator affiliated with I'm Enterprise. She is widely known for her work, such as Tamako Kitashirakawa in ''Tamako Market''.
Biography
Suzaki is good at singing, and lists soft tennis and s ...
(Voice Actress)
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Miki Takakura
(born on December 14, 1960 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa) is a Japanese gravure idol and pink film actress who was active in the 1980s and rose to prominence as Nikkatsu's from 1983 to 1985.
Life and career Nikkatsu
When famed Nikkatsu S&M actress Na ...
(Actress)
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Misato Tanaka
is a Japanese actress.
Biography
Tanaka started appearing on stage as a child. She won an award at Toho's Cinderella contest in 1996 and landed the starring role in the NHK Asadora ''Aguri ''in 1997, which significantly launched her career. She ...
(Actress)
*
Mayuko Watanabe(Media Journalist)
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Kazuki Yao
Kazuki (written: , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese wrestler
*, Japanese anime director
*, Japanese footballer
*, Japanese footballer
*, Japanese footballer
*, J ...
(Voice Actor)
*
Ryutaro Morimoto
Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an eight-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more than 10 million physical co ...
(Singer)
Sports people
Athletics
*
Kenkichi Oshima
was a Japanese triple jumper who won a bronze medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was the flag bearer for Japan at the 1936 Games in Berlin.[1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...]
in Los Angeles)
*
Takanori Sugibayashi
Takanori Sugibayashi ( ja, 杉林 孝法; born 14 March 1976) is a retired Japanese triple jumper. His personal best is 17.02 metres, achieved in July 2000 in Sapporo. He has competed at the Olympic Games twice.
Personal best
International com ...
Baseball
*
Eiji Kanamori
*
Ryosuke Miyaguni
*
Arihito Muramatsu
Arihito Muramatsu (村松 有人, born December 12, 1972) is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder, and current the first squad outfield defense and base coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) ...
*
Kentaro Nishikawa
*
Shintaro Yoshida
is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Jap ...
Football
*
Koji Hashimoto
*
Sena Inami
*
Kazuma Kita
is a former Japanese Association football, football player.
Club statistics
References
External links
*
1981 births
Living people
Kokushikan University alumni
Association football people from Ishikawa Prefecture
Japanese footballers
J ...
*
Hikaru Kitagawa
*
Takahiro Takagi
is a former Japanese football player.
Playing career
Takagi was born in Kanazawa on July 1, 1982. He joined J1 League club JEF United Ichihara from youth team in 2001. However he could not play at all in the match behind Ryo Kushino until 20 ...
Sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
*
Dejima Takeharu
Dejima Takeharu (出島 武春, born March 21, 1974) is a former sumo wrestler from Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan. A former amateur champion, he made his professional debut in 1996, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division the following year. In Ju ...
*
Enhō Akira
is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ishikawa Prefecture. He made his debut in March 2017 and wrestles for Miyagino stable. His highest rank has been ''maegashira'' 4. He is shorter and weighs significantly less than the vast majority ...
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Kagayaki Taishi
is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He wrestles for Takadagawa stable and made his professional debut in May 2010. Kagayaki reached the top division for the first time in 2016. His highest rank is ''maegashira'' 3.
Early life and sumo b ...
Others
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Keiji Kojima
is a Japanese cyclist. He competed in two events at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He is also a professional keirin
– literally "racing cycle" – is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint for victory following a ...
(
Keirin
– literally "racing cycle" – is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan around 1948 for gamblin ...
)
*
Yu Koshikawa
is a Japanese volleyball player who plays for Voreas Hokkaido in V.League Division 2.
In July 2009, Suntory Sunbirds announced that Koshikawa would move to Pallavolo Padova next season.
In July 2012, Suntory Sunbirds announced Koshikawa wou ...
(Volleyball)
*
Akira Masuda
Akira may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Akira'' (franchise), a Japanese cyberpunk franchise
** ''Akira'' (manga), a 1980s cyberpunk manga by Katsuhiro Otomo
** ''Akira'' (1988 film), an anime film adaptation of the manga
** ''Akira'' (vide ...
(
Karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
)
*
Keita Masuda(Badminton)
*
Kaori Matsumoto
is a retired Japanese judoka.
Career
Kaori Matsumoto started judo at the age of 6. Iwai Judo Juku, the school she attended, also worked on wrestling once a week. Therefore, she brought a stance of leaning forward, similar to that of wrestling, ...
(
Judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
)
*
Hiroshi Nakano(Rower)
*
Naoya Nomura
Naoya Nomura (born October 26, 1993) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is former All Asia Tag Team and World Tag Team Champion. He also has a background in rugby.
Early life
Nomura started ...
(
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
)
*
Hisakatsu Oya
Kenichi Oya (大矢健一) (born July 2, 1964) is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Hisakatsu Oya (大矢剛功). Although he started out for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he is well known for his stint in Fro ...
(
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
)
*
Katsuhiko Sumii
(born 28 March 1964, Kanazawa, Ishikawa) is a Japanese horse trainer.
He trained the first and second placing horses in the 2006 Melbourne Cup, Delta Blues and Pop Rock. Other notable horses Sumii has trained include Kane Hekili, Vodka, Victo ...
(Horse trainer)
*
Rana Nakano
is a Japanese individual trampoline gymnast, at international competitions. To date, she has competed in the 2014 and 2015 Trampoline World Championships, and Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
In 2014, she won the silver medal in the girls' trampoli ...
(Trampoline)
*
Igor Fraga
Igor may refer to:
People
* Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name
* Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler
* Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling
* ...
(
Motorsport
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
)
References
External links
*
Kanazawa City official website
Kanazawa Tourist Information Guide
Kanazawa Tourist Information Guide from 2008
{{Authority control
Cities in Ishikawa Prefecture
Port settlements in Japan
Populated coastal places in Japan