Kanazawa, Natadera,
Eiheiji, and Maruoka
Central-Western Honshu,
Japan (October 2024)
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This page
shows photos I took in Kanazawa and three locations south of Kanazawa. I much
enjoyed visiting the temples of Natadera and Eiheiji and the small castle of
Maruoka, but Kanazawa was somewhat a disappointment, the only one during this
entire three-week trip. In addition to being very touristy, it has relatively
few truly interesting places to visit, given its importance throughout the Edo
period. Some of its ″historic″ districts, notably the Higashi and
Nishi Chaya districts, are very overrated. Its castle, recently reconstructed,
lacks the character of other large original Japanese castles, such as those of
Matsumoto, Kumamoto and Matsuyama, which I visited on previous trips. An
exception to this disappointment was the Seisonkaku villa, one of the most
beautiful Edo-period houses I have ever visited, which was also hosting a
superb exhibition of Maeda family objects. Photos being forbidden, there are
none below.
Kanazawa
From the late
16th century to the end of the Edo period in 1868, the Kanazawa castle was the
seat of the Maeda clan, which ruled the vast and productive Kaga domain. A
major fire destroyed most of its structures in 1881, leaving only two
storehouses, a gate, and some stone fortification walls intact. Recently, its
most central structures have been painstakingly rebuilt.
View of the
main structures of the castle, which include the Kahokumon (one of the gates of
the castle), two turrets (Hishi and Tsuzuki Yagura), and a long storehouse
connecting them.
Hishi Yagura and portion of the long storehouse
between Hishi and Tsuzuki Yagura.
Another
portion of the long storehouse and Tsuzuki Yagura seen from the Kahokumon.
Fortification
wall with well-fitted stones.
Gokurakubashi
(bridge) leading to the Sanjikken Nagaya (built in
1858), one of the two storehouses that escaped the fire of 1881.
Well-crafted
timber roof truss in the Sanjikken Nagaya.
Gyokusen'inmaru
garden below fortification walls of the castle.
Oyama shrine.
Unusual but
imposing gate designed by a Dutch architect leading to the Oyama shrine.
Views of the Oyama
shrine (Shinto). It is dedicated to Maeda Toshiie (1538-1599), the first lord
of the Maeda clan.
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Equestrian statue of
Maeda Toshiie with a horo on his back, erected on the grounds of the Oyama
shrine. This statue refers to Toshiie's rise
to power. The horo, an unusual light samurai armor protecting a rider's back
from arrows, was used by elite troops of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), the head of
the very powerful Oda Clan. Before becoming daimyo himself, Toshiie was the
leader of Nobunaga's Aka Horo Shu (″Red coat riders″). In
1580, after participating in numerous battles, he was granted lordship of the
Kaga domain.
Small garden
on the grounds of the Oyama shrine. It features ponds and variously shaped
bridges.
Constructed under the Maeda lordship as an extension
of the castle grounds, this large garden is considered one of the most
beautiful landscape gardens in Japan.
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The statue
visible in the upper part of the photo on the right represents Yamato Takeru no
Mikoto, a legendary prince. It honors the local warriors who died during the
Satsuma rebellion of 1877.
Wood panel
adorning the lintel of the haiden (prayer room) of Ishiuraja jinja, a Shinto
shrine adjacent to the westernmost corner of Kenrokuen.
Nagamachi
district.
During the
Edo period, this area of Kanazawa, which is strategically located a short
distance west of the castle, was a living quarter for high- and middle-ranking
samurai serving and protecting the Maeda clan. For defense purposes, the
residences and their gardens are protected by high tsuchikabe walls bordering narrow streets
(tsuchikabe is a kind of adobe). At the beginning of the Meiji period, the
samurai families living here lost their source of income and had to leave.
Their residences found new owners and parts of Nagamachi remains well preserved
to this day.
Narrow
streets bordered by tsuchikabe walls. Tile roofs protect
the walls from rain. In addition, in winter, temporary rice straw mats are
layered against the walls to protect them from snow.
Two
successive right angles in a street for additional defense purposes.
Tsuchikabe
walls of residences along the Onosho canal. Built in the late 16th century,
this canal stretches 10km from the Sai river. In addition to supplying the
residences with water and defending them against fires, the canal was used to
transport heavy goods and timber when the snow melted.
Front yard of
the former residence of the Nomura samurai family.
Teramachi.
This is a
district filled with Buddhist temples. All the photos below, except the first
one, were taken in one of them, the Korinji temple.
Packed
alignment of gravestones in the Gannenji temple.
Korinji
temple.
This temple
was built in 1651 at the request of the third Maeda lord. Several parts of the
temple were destroyed by fire in the middle of the Edo period. Its current main
hall dates from the end of the Edo period. The most interesting sight in this
temple is arguably its large collection of Noh and Kyogen masks produced by
artist Mokukan Hirai.
Left: Inside
the main hall. Right: Stone statue of a seated Jizo with staff.
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Eight masks
of the collection exposed in Korinji. Each one stylizes and emphasizes a facial
expression in order to stimulate the imagination of the observer.
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Four
sculptures of Arhats standing in the backyard of the Korinji temple. (The
Arhats are the 16 disciples of Buddha who were entrusted with the transmission
of Buddhism upon his death.)
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Kazuemachi.
This is a
small riverside district on the left (south) bank of the Asano river,
consisting of a waterfront row of feudal-era wooden machiya buildings and
narrow lanes behind them.
Waterfront of
Kazuemachi seen from across the Asano river.
Houses of
Kazuemachi seen from the riverside path.
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Kuboichi
Ototsurugigu shrine (Shinto), located on the southern edge of the Kazuemachi
district.
Late
afternoon views of the right bank of the Asano river from the Kazuemachi
district.
Higashi Chaya
district.
This teahouse
(chaya) district was established around 1820 for geishas to entertain wealthy
visitors. It is located near the Asano river, on its northern side. Its old
slatted wooden houses offer a somewhat interesting sight, but most of the
district is very commercial, noisy, and crowded with tourists. Not my cup of
tea.
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Natadera temple
Natadera
temple, a temple of the Shingon Buddhist sect, is located a few kilometers
south of the city of Komatsu, southwest of Kanazawa, in a mountain area west of
Hakusan (White Mountain), considered the third most beautiful mountain in
Japan. It was founded in 717 by a monk named Taicho to honor the goddess
Kannon, who is believed to inhabit Hakusan. The famous haiku poet Matsuo Basho
(1644-1694) came here on a pilgrimage and left the following haiku (which
sounds probably much better in Japanese): an autumn wind / whiter than the
cliffs / in the rocky mountain.
Entrance gate
into the large temple complex.
Kondo
Keo-den. Rebuilt in 1990, this hall is where all the main religious ceremonies
take place. It is located on the left side of the main alley of the complex,
immediately after crossing the entrance gate.
Garden and
rock cliff in the back of the Kondo Keo-den.
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Main alley in the temple complex beyond
the Kondo Keo-den.
Statues along
the main alley. (The statue in the left photo represents Fudo-myo-o.)
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Caves in a cliff overlooking a pond, with access steps cut into the rock.
Archeological remains suggest that this was already a
place of worship during the Jomon (14000-1000BC) and Yayoi (1000BC-300CE)
periods. By comparing the cliff and its caves to the inside of a mother's
womb, a belief predating Buddhism is that the site has purifying powers. So,
people come here in the hope of being reborn, a practice known as ″Umarekiyomaru″.
Pond and
gates beyond the caves.
Honden (main
shrine of the temple). After being destroyed in a war among rival clans, it was
reconstructed in 1642 by Maeda Toshitsune, the second Maeda lord of the Kaga
domain. It stands behind trees on a steep slope, partially inside a natural
cave, with a protruding facade supported by an impressive wooden lattice
structure. The side closest to the rock face is
roofless.
Left:
Three-storied pagoda standing on a hill facing the rock cliff with the cave formations.
Center and right: Carved wooden panels representing Chinese lions, decorating
the exterior walls of the pagoda.
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Eiheiji temple
Located in
rugged mountains a few kilometers east of the city of Fukui, this temple is one
of the two head temples of the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism. It was founded by
Dogen Zenji (1200-1253). The temple complex includes more than a dozen major
buildings and many smaller ones. Most of them are interconnected by covered
passages and stairs providing protection against rain and snow.
Small isolated
shrines at the base of the complex.
The Karamon,
a special entrance to the complex, set slightly away from the other main structures,
but still connected to them by a covered walkway. It is only opened when the
head priest of Eiheiji or an Imperial envoy arrives at the temple.
Statue and
pond at the visitors' entrance.
Inside the
Sanshokaku (modern reception hall). Left: Representation of Daruma (aka
Bodhidharma), the founder of Zen Buddhism, on a wall. Right: Part of the
ceiling filled with 230 paintings of flowers and birds.
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Covered stairways
between historical buildings of the complex.
The Butsuden,
a large prayer hall.
Zen Monks and
novices entering the Butsuden for the morning prayer.
Prayer in the
Butsuden.
Joyomon, the
gate of the Joyoden, the Founder's hall (mausoleum of Dogen Zenji).
Inside the
Hatto, a lecture hall at the top of the complex. The white statues representing
lion-dog creatures at the base of the Buddha shrine are called ″Komainu″.
One has its mouth open, the other its mouth closed. These two forms are
respectively called 阿形 (form ″a″) and 吽形 (form ″un″). They symbolize the first and last sounds of a
human. This symbolism is the same as that of the Nio guardians found at the
entrances of many Japanese Buddhist temples.
Maruoka castle
This small
castle is believed to have been built in the early 1600s. It stands atop a
small hill in the plain north of the city of Fukui. One of the only 12 Japanese
castles that ″survived″ the Meiji restoration in 1868, many of its
buildings were nevertheless destroyed and only its three-storied keep remains
relatively intact. The castle was once called the ″Mist Castle″,
because the fog above the plain hid it from approaching enemies. Before the
Meiji restoration, it had been owned by 17 successive lords. As one may guess
from the pictures, the stairs in the keep are very steep: they are at a
65-degree angle between the first and second floors, and at a 67-degree angle
between the second and third floors.
Views of the
keep.
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View over the
surrounding plain from the upper floor of the keep.
