Kanazawa's Historical & Higashi Chaya District.

Ever heard of a place called Kanazawa….?? We hadn’t. So, why go there, asked my son ? We were keen on seeing parts of Japan off the usual tourist track. My research showed Takayama, Shirakawa Go and Kanazawa as very interesting places worth a visit. They also were in a “straight” line from Tokyo, easily accessible and crossed the whole island. We were now in the coach having left Shirakawa at 3.35 pm and by 4.20 pm, we were in Kanazawa. An aspect which we were unaware of, was that in many cities, hotels are in pedestrian zones so you have to walk a distance to your destination. Here, luckily, the hotel was about 50 metres in the zone so it wasn’t far.   

Kanazawa is well known within Japan. Unlike many Japanese cities, Kanazawa escaped destruction during World War II. The old town survived and is well-preserved and attractive. The Nagamachi Samurai District and the Higashi Chaya District are particularly charming and are very popular with visitors. To appreciate the beauty of a new place, especially when you have very limited time and want to see as much as possible, the best thing to do is to hire a local guide who covers all the main spots in a 3- or 4-hour walking tour and then you aim for the rest. We wanted to see the historical part of Kanazawa and through the “withlocals” website searched for guides. Generally, I go for locals but here, I was intrigued by a foreigner who was a guide in what I felt was the boondocks. What was she doing there? What was her knowledge and love of the place – after all, to be a guide, you have to love a place to repeat every day, the same spiel. One never knows the type of customer one gets and hence its russian roulette on whether they will appreciate the guide. For us, we needed someone with real knowledge of the place, some interesting historical titbits, the ability to hold our attention over 3 – 4 hours and who would leave us feeling charmed and happy with our visit to the town of Kanazawa. After all, we had only one day in which to see all what we wanted. 

I chose Lucy and we waited in anticipation at 9.30 am for her arrival. In walked a tall foreigner, with a charming warm smile.  She spoke good English and whilst she had a planned route, she was flexible in what we may want. She was of French – German nationality, and was here as her husband was doing some research in a highly scientific subject. She had two young kids. During the walk she told us that in Japan, children as young as 5 – 6 years go to school on their own without any fear. They use public transport or walk. She told us when there was a power cut in the city, her own young child had walked a few kilometres home as there was no way to contact the parents !! A new insight into Japanese values and culture – as in most parts of the world, no child is sent unaccompanied at that age!

So here were six Indians with differing requirements / tastes – one of my conditions to my family on taking them with me, was that walking tours were obligatory ! So, when I fixed tours in each city, they were part of the group. The rest was personal time. Lucy’s Walking tour covered Oyama shrine, the walk to the Fort, the fascinating Geisha quarter, those strange Omiyage shops, antique shops and ended with a visit to a gold workshop. She directed us to Omichi market. And later we landed up at the Samurai house and the famous Kenkoruen Gardens. That day, we walked and walked … over 22,000 steps. Next day, we ached but it was fun. Lucy was the epitome of a perfect guide… she herded us like lost lambs! (the photographers in our group took their time and I explained that within the group, we kept an eye on each other so no one got lost and she could happily walk ahead with a few of us if that happened); we learnt a lot and saw a large part of the city. She happily waited whilst we looked around in Omiyage and Samurai shops, and gave advice in the gold workshop; she stayed over her time limit and then gently showed us the route to the market. Thank you, Lucy, for a wonderful time. 

We began with the Oyama Jinja – an impressive shrine dedicated to Kanazawa's founder Maeda Toshiie. Built in 1599, it was moved to its present location in 1873. The gate is 25 metres / 82 ft high. The design fuses Japanese, Chinese, and European design elements including beautiful Dutch stained-glass windows. While the first story displays a mixture of Japanese and Chinese influence, the upper stories once served as a lighthouse. The gate originally guarded the entrance to the palace of the Castle, and was only later moved to Oyama Shrine. On the shrine grounds stands a statue of Lord Toshiie and his wife in appreciation of rebuilding the whole city.  Adjacent to the shrine, is a beautiful Musu garden : each section with ponds and bridges designed to resemble Japanese musical instruments like harps and lutes. Great care is taken to place each stone bridge, the decorative stones and plants.

Next stop was a longish slightly uphill walk to reach Kanazawa Castle. Massive battlements, gates and walls. Kanazawa Castle was home to one family for the entire 280-year history of the Edo Period: the Maeda clan, who ruled over the Kaga Domain of present-day Ishikawa and Toyama. The castle had a peaceful history under the powerful Maeda clan but two major fires claimed many of its major structures, including the castle tower, which was never rebuilt. Two of its major structures, the Ishikawa-mon Gate and the Sanjikken Nagaya were rebuilt and are now important cultural assets. The local authorities have also ensured that the materials and techniques of the original construction are followed for any reconstruction to ensure authenticity. The castle park is most famous for its many formidable stone walls that fortified the castle against potential attackers. Because walls were added during different periods of the castle's long history, the evolution of building techniques over the centuries can be clearly appreciated in the various walls around the castle park.  A garden was constructed on the castle grounds by the 3rd Maeda lord in 1634. Gyokusen-inmaru Garden was destroyed at the beginning of the Meiji Period (1868–1912) but reconstructed to its former glory again in 2015. 

We reached the Geisha district by 11.00 am. Higashi Chaya is the largest of the three historical geisha entertainment districts still existing in Kanazawa. This is an area of great interest even though we did not see any geisha up close but walking through the district was unreal. At times its claustrophobic and one can visualise the grave danger of fire. I love the history of Japan – shoguns and warlords, geishas and ninjas etc. Great stuff. Here, we saw the wooden buildings, crafted with great care, so close to each other, a perfectly preserved neighbourhood from Kanazawa's Edo Period history. Just imagine, with eyes closed, an evening in this place a few centuries ago. 

We learnt that in the social hierarchy, Samurai were at the top of the list. Then came the farmers, followed by merchants. Over time, the merchants became very rich and samurai poor !! 

incidentally, Samurai never went to the Geisha houses – they visited the prostitutes instead.

Lucy said that there were over 1,000 tea houses in Japan at one time; now in Kyoto, there are only 14 houses. 

It costs US$ 1,000 to participate in a 2½ hour tea ceremony. Steep? You decide. To me, its unaffordable.

In many movies we have seen how the Lords are welcomed and entertained by the Geishas. I would have loved to be a part then ! There has been a drastic fall in the number of geishas but even so, I was aghast to learn of the cost of a Geisha experience – a couple of hours listening to the Geisha playing a samisen can put you back a 4 digit US$ amount! Even taking part or watching in a group tea ceremony is expensive. But like all things in Japan, bookings must be made well in advance or through certain websites to enable you to participate. All the three districts are designated as a Cultural Asset of Japan. We walked around and the streets were empty as it was mid morning but we heard the sound of the samisen – rather depressing on its own !  The architecture of the Higashi Chaya district is fairly unique, with wood latticework over the first floor exterior. Two story buildings were prohibited during the Edo Period except for geisha teahouses, making this neighbourhood a rarity.

Another fascinating nugget about Japan – you will see entrances of shops and restaurants with curtains in front of them. These are known as Noren… if there is a curtain flapping, the place is open. Else closed !!

We crossed through the Geisha area across the bridge over the river to see the Omiyage shops. Omiyage is the Japanese tradition of travellers bringing gifts back from their visits for friends, family and even colleagues. These are not bought for oneself and are typically region-specific food products packaged into several small portions to be easily distributed to those who did not make the trip.

Food is a classic choice for an omiyage because it is easily shared and doesn't add clutter to the home. Local goods like maple syrup, honey, jams, spices etc are unique gifts and can be enjoyed together as a family. Omiyage are usually sweet items such as candy, cake, or cookies but can include alcohol, dry snacks, rice crackers etc.

They are frequently selected from products associated with a particular area. Bringing back Omiyage from trips to co-workers and families is regarded as a social obligation, and can be considered a form of apology for the traveller's absence !! 

Omiyage sales are big business for Japanese tourism agencies. This tradition reminded me of the old days in the 1950’s and 60’s when my parents travelled and ensured they brought back gifts, however small, for every member of our extended family and close friends. This was quite a large number and today, with travel bag / weight restrictions and high costs, one finds it difficult to cater for even one’s immediate family !! 

After visiting a shop selling Samurai antiques (separate blog), we came to the Goldsmith workshop. I have been to Mandalay in Burma / Myanmar’s Gold workshops where male workers in awful conditions, wearing loin cloths in searing heat, beat the hell out of gold lumps to make thin gold sheets. I have seen shops selling these sheets outside temples where devotees buy them and apply it to the dome of famous pagodas. The dome of Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon (Rangoon) is entirely covered in pure gold. Just look up the internet : Ask how much gold covers this pagoda and you will be stunned at the different amounts mentioned.

 

The shop we visited is obviously well known and where foreign tourists are brought to see the workshop and then enticed to buy their fancy beautiful products at even fancier prices.  I was amazes at their work ethic and dedication of having to sit in one position for  a few hours to complete the task. One gold sheet is one micron thin. A sheet as such is of no value on its own as you cant do anything with it. The gold plated product is what makes you buy them. We spent some time appreciating the actual process of manufacture and then seeing the really fancy items. The dexterity of the skilled labour is awesome. Each sheet lifted and precisely placed. But my favorite was the way the female worker cut the gold sheet and then trashed the rest. If only it was really thrown away !!

From here, we went to the Omichi market for lunch. See a few photographs including one of Gold leaf ice-cream eaten by my son. He enjoyed it….. in India, we use gold and silver leaf on betel leaf (paan) as well as on high end Indian mithai (desserts).   

                       

Thank you for reading this travel blog on Kanazawa and do let your friends know about it as well as my other travel articles here. Happy reading and all the best.Sunil S Mehta

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