Kanazawa

Kanazawa (金沢市; Kanazawa-shi) is the capital of the Préfecture of Ishikawa to the Japan.

Geography, climate, and population

The site of the town of Kanazawa in the sea of Japan is bordered by the Japanese Alps, the Hakusan national park. The city is between the rivers Saigawa and Asanogawa. Its surface is of 467,77 km ².

The weather with Kanazawa is rather rainy. The average temperature is similar to that of Tokyo although slightly fresher. The temperatures are mainly of 4°C in January, 15°C in April, 25°C in July - August, 15°C in October and 5°C in December. The temperature minimum recorded was of -2,3°C in 2002, and the strongest temperature was of 37,5°C always in 2002. The city is relatively wet with 73% and on average 168 days an average water content of rain per annum. Precipitations are strongest in autumn and winter. It rains on average 250 mm per month from November to January.

In 2005, the population was of 454.607 inhabitants and the density of 976,18 hab/km ².

Local kitchen

Kanazawa is known for its traditional kitchen, particularly the products of the sea like shrimp, the crab and obviously the Sushi S and Sashimi S. the productions of the area are of high-quality, in particular rice thanks to strong precipitations throughout the year.

To buy local products there exists a market in the center of the city, Ômicho Ichiba (近江町市場), which exists since the time of Edo and is famous in all Japan.

A few local mets to test:

Fuku EMU (福梅): light cookie in the shape of flower of plum tree, pink or white, protecting from the kidney bean paste sweetened (Anko 餡こ);
Kaga renkon (加賀蓮根): root of lotus;
Takenoko (筍): bamboo shoots pulps;

History

The modern city of Kanazawa was founded on April 1st, 1889.
The city was directed by the Clan Maeda of 1583 until the Meiji restoration in 1868.

The name of Kanazawa wants literally to say “the Marsh of gold” and refers to an old legend which wants that a peasant of the name of Imohori Togoro found gold by digging the ground to plant potatoes and cereals there. This history partly explains the richness and the settlement of the city which did of Kanazawa one of the cities the most populated of Japan to the Middle Ages.

The kingdom of the peasant

As in many cities of Japan the castle, Kanazawa-OJ, mark the center of the city which came to develop around. This site of establishment is the work of Ikko-Ikki and date of the 15th century at the time of the Guerre of Onin. At this period, the Buddhist sect Amida nourishes a revolt in the Province of Kaga under the pressure of a large lord, Masachika Togashi. Composed basic samurais caste and peasants trained with the combat (Ikko-Ikki), it is a true army which establishes its general headquarter with the place and place of the castle and which directs the Southern part of what is the prefecture of Ishikawa today. During this period of disorders and internal wars of the 15th century, the capacity of Shogun decreases with the profit of that of its regional governors who find themselves free to direct their strongholds as good seems to them. It is in this context that arrives in the province of Kaga a priest of the name of Rennyo of the sect of Honganji of Jodo-Shinshu of Kyoto. Wanting to spread the faith and the values of its sect, it will run up against the samurais and peasants of the Amida sect. Rennyo and its disciples being under the protection of the central temple of Kyoto, which has many Ikko, their establishment occurs relatively well. With the passing of years the power of the regional governors decreases enormously and makes it possible disciples of Rennyo to appease their political ambitions until pushing with the suicide the last Togashi governor in 1488.

During the century which will follow, the province of Kaga is directed by Ikko-Ikki which created a kind of republic that the history named “the Kingdom of the peasant”. They were established on the bastion that the site of Gobo with Kanazawa represents where the castle is established at present. Flanked high hills and surrounded by the rivers, this establishment appears natural establishing the fortress there. Around this place, the first town of Kanazawa develops with religious residences and buildings to which come to be added trade. One finds still today a hierarchisation of the occupation of the city by specific categories of population (the district of the samurais, geishas, market, etc). This type of city designed for the practice of the war was also very rich of temples and gardens. The city resembled a European city of the Middle Ages in term of structure with the religious castle and buildings in the center strengthened of the city and surrounded by ditches, naturally placed here at the disposal from topography of the ground and the presence of river.

Kanazawa and the Maeda family

The kingdom ended in 1580 with the arrival of a general called Nobunaga Morimasa which attacked the small kingdom of the peasants and succeeded in reversing the fortified town of Gobo. Having touched a strong reward for his victory, this general thought of rebuilding the city and of establishing a great military base there. However its reign was of short duration because three years after the catch of the city, Toyotomi Hideyoshi with the lord Maeda Toshiie which constituted the advanced guard of the army took the city and reversed Nobunaga Morimasa. Like rewards for its bravery, Maeda Toshiie received the stronghold of Kaga in addition to the peninsula of Noto which it directed already. The Maeda clan was one of most powerful of Japan and also one of most obscure from his political ambitions and the positions which it took. Thus it is only when Toshiie died into 1599 that its importance in the establishment of Shogunate of the Tokugawa was revealed. With his death, his/her Toshinaga son set up a tomb with Kanazawa to him on the site of Utatsu-Hachimangu, and having a duty to remember and of respect for his ancestor. When feudalism was removed and that the strongholds were congédiés after the revolution of Meiji, the former samurais joined together their richnesses and builds the tomb of Oyama on the site of the palate of Kanaya, in order to grant to the burial of Toshiie a monument more imposing and representative of the respect which they had for him. The door of the tomb, built in 1875, is a realization between Europeans and single Japanese where one finds a mixture of style in architecture and materials employed.

The oldest son of Toshiie, Toshinaga, was born in 1562 whereas Toshiie was 26 years old. He married at the 20 years age the girl of Nobunaga and became the lord of the castle of Fuchu while ensuring the regency of the castles of Matto, Moriyama and Toyame. He inherited the intendance of the clan of Maeda in 1598 and it is with the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 qu ' he affirmed his political ambitions while being combined with Tokugawa Ieyasu. This alliance enabled him to increase its territory towards the East around Edo (currently Tokyo). It replaced his father as a one of the five regents that Hideyoshi had named to govern the country as long as his/her son was minor. Although combined of Tokugawa, he did not hesitate to be opposed to them to protect his territory against the pressure which Ieyasu put on the military villages and stations between the provinces. Toshinaga died in 1614 after a retirement in the castle of Toyama.

Toshitsune

His/her son Toshitsune (1593-1658) was naturally designated to take the succession of the clan. Although many alliances exist with close families, Toshitsune took a care particular to avoid any implication or demonstration of military or political ambition. Instead of that, it made display of its talents of manager and mediator to regulate the internal businesses of the clan as well as the external problems. Also, instead of investing the richness of Maeda in the war, it injected this money in the artistic and cultural trades which, taking into account the richness of the area and the fortune of Maeda, developed quickly. It is also Toshitsune which founded the Office of execution of Kaga and supported by its skew artisanal work (lacquer, gildings, penmanship…) by gathering craftsmen of all the country. This abandonment of the warlike way caused to decrease the pressure of Shogunate which was constantly fixed on the province of Kaga since the battle of Sekigahara. The province became famous in all Japan for its craft industry and the cultural events which proceeded there. Kanazawa was then one of the largest cities of Japan and Kaga was classified like province with " a million koku" (the koku is the unit of the income of the samurais for the feudal period and it corresponds to rice 150kg). The provinces and the Maeda family became so rich that when Toshitsune divided the grounds between its sons, the richness of Kaga and Maeda was not much affected. Throughout the Edo period, the city thrived and its economic and cultural richness did not cease growing and competed even with Kyoto. As example, the income of the province of Kaga reached more than one million koku (approximately 1,3 million). If it were necessary to compare with current values, the province of Kaga would bring back to the year the equivalent of approximately 500 million euros.

In 1631, a fire burst close to the bridge of Saigawa and destroyed most of the city of which the castle. Toshitsune thus decided, in addition to the rebuilding of the castle, to arrange a large channel making it possible to bring the water of the Saigawa river to the castle. A daring plan which consisted in going to take water far upstream by digging kilometers from channels in order to feed the castle by the means of an underground grid and from surface. Drains carefully posed on more than 3 km along Kodatsuno with a slope of 750:1 feed the castle and of the artificial lakes. Thus ponds of the garden Kenroku, whose Kasumigaike (霞ケ池), are built to be used as provisioning of help. They are connected to the castle located at a lower point by drains and drains. A local legend wants that these lakes are useful before very brutally flooding the ditches and the neighborhoods of the castle carrying the possible attackers.

The Meiji era

For the period of Meiji, the castles are the property of the central government which considers those with little regard. Become obsolete and being symbol the one last time antiquated, of many castles are dismantled in all Japan. The castle of Kanazawa escapes this disastrous fate and becomes the base of the ninth division of the imperial army. Unfortunately, the majority of the buildings were altered and replaced the military needs of the occupants. What remained buildings of origin was destroyed at the time of a fire which devastated another good part of the site in 1888. Thus occupied by the army until the end of the second world war, it is only into 1949 that the castle changed designation and sheltered the university of Kanazawa. It will occupy it during 10 years before a campus is built on the hills bordering the city. Since 1960, and for the first time in the space of more than 400 years, the site is a park which one can visit. The castle underwent work and the current version of the castle has only a few tens years of existence.

Policy

The mayor since 2005 is Tamotsu Yamade.

Inheritance

One of the three more beautiful gardens of Japan, the Kenroku (兼六園), in which the oldest fountain of Japan is;
the old district of Geisha, called the “district of the of the east” (Higashi Chaya Machi 東茶屋街);
the district and houses of samurais with Naga-machi (長町). Some residences of samurais (Bukeyashiki 武家屋敷) and authentic, old craftsmen of more than 200 years, are worth visiting;
the temple Myôryuji (妙立寺), so known like the temple-ninja (Ninja-dera 忍者寺) in reference to these multiple traps and secrete ways;
One of the oldest houses of the of Japan is present in Gyokusen (玉泉園), the garden of the Nishida family.
the recent museum of the {{S|XXI|E}} ( Nijuuisseiki Bijutsukan 21 世紀美術館), museum of contemporary art conceived by the architects SANAA;
Kanazawa is also famous for its traditional arts such Kaga-yûzen (加賀友禅, art of painting on silk and the manufacture of the kimono), enamelled No (能) and them wood (Shikki, 漆器 or Haku, 箔, with use of gold sheets).

Twinnings

since 1973 - Nancy is written ナンシー in Japanese .
Buffalo, the United States since 1962
Porto Alegre, Brazil since 1967
Irkutsk, Russia since 1967
Ghent, Belgium since 1971
Jeonju, South Korea since 2002

External bonds

Official site of Kanazawa

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