{"id":4296,"date":"2016-04-01T11:54:08","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T02:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=4296"},"modified":"2020-08-08T20:11:00","modified_gmt":"2020-08-08T11:11:00","slug":"kanazawa-castle-testimony-history-determination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/kanazawa-castle-testimony-history-determination\/","title":{"rendered":"Kanazawa Castle – A testimony to history and determination"},"content":{"rendered":"
Throughout Japan you will find countless of villages nicknamed “Little Edo”, but only Kanazawa has earned the nickname of “Little Kyoto”, even though its far from little. Kanazawa during the Edo period was the seat of power of the Maeda clan who was only second to the Tokugawa clan in domains control led and wealth. Our first stop in exploring Kanazawa’s rustic small town charm can therefore be none other then Kanazawa Castle.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n Like many of Japan’s castles, Kanazawa’s also started humbly as a small fort with a town around it in 1580. This humble phase did not last for long as it was already in 1583, when lord Maeda Toshiie took over control of the domain, that its full-scale construction began. The castle was planned out with large spacious grounds surrounding a truly massive six-level main keep which you could see on the horizon from miles away.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Just like its humble period, Kanazawa castle’s peak was also short-lived. The main keep burned down due to lightning less than 20 years after its construction in 1602, never to be rebuilt. Over the centuries that followed several other fires destroyed parts of the castle. After the last great fire in 1881 only three buildings survived, its two storehouses and the Ishikawa-mon Gate. With a breath of relief, like Kyoto, Kanazawa was not bombed during World War II ensuring that much of its historic buildings still remain to this day.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The city set out on the immense project to rebuild the castle after Kanazawa University, which used the castle grounds for several years, was moved elsewhere around 1990. As of today several buildings have been completed using traditional building techniques. Staying true to the original design the buildings emphasise horizontal lines and aesthetics with copper or lead panels and white plastered earthen walls.<\/p>\n