Kanazawa

temples and shrines

The river to the south, the Sai River, has on its far bank the main temple district of Teramachi 寺町. One of the more impressive ones in Japan, both sides of the road are lined with imposing walls and looming black-tiled roofs. Its eastern counterpart is the Higashiyama Temple District. In contrast to Teramachi's straight road, the eastern temples are dotted around the hillside in a maze of narrow streets. The Kodatsuno ridge also has a small temple area, dominated by Tentokuin.

Ninja Temple

妙立寺 Myōryu-ji (http://www.myouryuji.or.j...) - The tour guides insist there is no connection between the 'Ninja Temple' and actual ninja assassins. But with 23 rooms and 29 staircases, an impressive array of trapdoors and hidden rooms, and a sepukku ritual suicide chamber, it is easy to see why people would make that assumption. Visitors cannot enter the temple except through the tours, so call ahead to book a tour. The tour is conducted in Japanese, but they give travellers a folder with English translations. Local lore has it that there was an underground tunnel from the castle to the temple, to allow the Maeda lords an escape route in case of attack. However, no documentary proof of this has been found, and, like the ninjas, it merely adds to the myths of the place. Unfortunately, the staff have a well-deserved reputation amongst both Japanese and foreigners for being rude and unhelpful. ¥800 for adults, and you're supposed to make a reservation in advance, although they can usually squeeze you in if there's space and you don't mind waiting for your tour to begin. The hour-long tour is well worth the price.

Oyama Shrine

尾山神社, on the other side of the castle. Built in the early Meiji period to honour the founding father of the Kaga Domain, Maeda Toshiie. It is notable for a unique gate with stained-glass windows that is a fusion of Japanese and Western architecture. The back gate to the shrine is also one of the few remaining parts of the original castle: a gate from the palace compound that escaped destruction when it was moved to the shrine. "Oyama" was the original name for the hill on which Kanazawa Castle was built.

Tentoku-in

天徳院, the largest temple in Kanazawa during the Edo period, it stood at the eastern end of the city. It was built to house the spirit of Tama-hime 珠姫: the Princess Tama, the wife of Maeda Toshitsune the third Maeda lord. She was born in 1599 as the granddaughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the daughter of the second Shogun, Hidetada. It was a political marriage: the Tokugawa were worried about a possible attack from the powerful Maeda, historically supporters of the Toyotomi clan. Toshitsune sent his mother to Edo as a hostage, and in return received the Shogun's daughter in marriage. She was three years old at the time though the actual marriage was carried out when she was 14, and her arrival in Kanazawa is commemorated each year in the Kaga Hyakumangoku Parade. She died at age 24.

Daijōji Temple

is an old and active Zen Buddhist Temple set away from traffic on a hillside. The temple in its current location dates from 1697. Old trees shade dense moss. There is a large bell hanging under the gate along the path which visitors may ring. Strikingly loud at first, the sound fades to accentuate the tranquillity. There are free early-early-morning pray-with-the-Zen-monks sessions for those so inclined, be prepared to join in with sweeping and cleaning afterwards. The whole place is extremely "wabi-sabi", spiritually mellow.

Shinmeiguu Shrine

神明宮 a few metres up from the Saigawa ōhashi bridge on the right hand side of the road this shrine is famous for the 900 year old plus Zelkova tree keyaki in its grounds. The shrine used to be on the banks of the Sai River, before land was reclaimed, and the tree was used as an anchor point for boats. Iron bars driven into the trunk so that boat hooks could be attached are still visible half-way up the tree. Sadly the rest of the grounds are used for parking and you will be kept at a safe distance from the tree by 3 fences: one bamboo, one steel and of course one made of concrete!