 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
From Kanazawa Castle the Maeda lords traveled by the Kaga Kaido to
Edo.
Courtesy of Ishikawa Prefecture. |
| |
 or
most Japanese, mention of Ishikawa, a prefecture along the Sea of
Japan, brings to mind Kaga Hyakumangoku, “Kaga of the Million Koku.” “Kaga” was the former name of Ishikawa; koku was a unit of rice equal to about 180 liters, enough to feed an adult for a year. In an age when rice was the basis of the economy, Kaga was king. Entry-level daimyos earned only 10,000 koku annually. The Maeda, the rulers of Kaga, were the most affluent clan under the shogun during the Edo Period (1603-1867). |
| Notwithstanding their wealth and power, the Maeda
were bound by the laws of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo, the old
name for Tokyo. So, for example, they were required to spend alternate
years at costly residences in the shogun’s city. While most daimyos
traveled along the famous Tokaido highway linking Edo and Kyoto,
the Maeda were only allowed to go to the shogun’s seat by the now-forgotten road known as the Kaga Kaido. |
| When the Maeda lord traveled to Edo, he had an escort
of over a thousand samurai and other servants. According to one historian,
the 600-kilometer two-week-long journey cost about ¥200 million ($2
million) at current prices. Today, however, little is known about
the route taken by the Maeda and available information is contradictory.
The Kaga Kaido often crops up as an epithet for the Hokkoku Kaido,
or “North Country Road,” a name for several routes running north from the inland Nakasendo, one of the five great highways (Gokaido) of the Edo Period. |
| The Maeda daimyo began their journey to Edo via the Kaga Kaido, no more than a coastal path from Kanazawa to Takada in Echigo (now Niigata). Much of the old Kaga Kaido has been paved over and lost, but interesting roadside relics have survived. |
 |
 |
| Zuiryuji Temple, a National Treasure. |
|
|
One is the temple of Zuiryuji, designated a National Treasure and built by Maeda Toshitsune in 1659 in Takaoka, today in Toyama Prefecture. The seven buildings and hallways of this quiet Zen sect sanctuary have been compared to a human body in their layout. The main hall has a roof made of lead, reportedly so bullets could be fashioned from it in the event of war. Ashes of Maeda lords are enshrined on the grounds. |
| From Takaoka the Kaga Kaido ran along Toyama Bay, through cities
such as Namerikawa, which offers eye-popping views of the Tateyama
Mountains to the east. Local specialties include “hotaru ika,” or firefly squid, which in spring light up the bay like constellations
the night sky. They are often boiled and served with seaweed or ginger
and a dash of miso, sugar and vinegar. |
| The Kaga Kaido joined the Hokkoku Kaido in Takada. The remarkable
warlord Uesugi Kenshin built Kasugayama Castle here in the 16th century
before subduing almost all of Echigo and attempting to unite Japan,
which was in the throes of civil war. The castle’s walls and
fortifications remain, and a museum, Kasugayama-joshi Monogatari
Kan, tells its
story. The ambitious Uesugi, who did battle with rival lord Takeda
Shingen on the plain of Kawanakajima to the south five times over
12 years, restored the Hokkoku Kaido for strategic purposes. August’s
Kenshin Festival fetes the local hero with displays of military arts
such as archery and kendo. |
|
In 1562, Kenshin also rebuilt Gochi Kokubunji Temple to the north of his castle. It features a three-story pagoda and a stone commemorating a visit by haiku poet Matsuo Basho in 1689 during his tour of northern Japan, recorded in the great travelogue Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to Oku). Weary from his long trip, Basho had visited a local physician and felt refreshed after viewing the doctor’s herb garden. The stone bears the poet’s verse: |
|
 |
|
| The Tateyama Mountains from the old Kaga Kaido. |
|
yakuran ni
izure no hana wo
kusamakura |
The herb garden--
Each of the flowers could be
My pillow for the night |
| Not far from the temple venerable pines line a stretch of National Road
8, part of the old Kaga Kaido. The trees are some of the last witnesses to
the Maeda’s grand processions. |
|
