Beautiful gardens and traditional townscapes are what most people think of when they visit Kanazawa. Among these, the Higashi Chaya District is widely known as one of Kanazawa’s most iconic landscapes, with its picturesque streets attracting many visitors. However, few may be aware of the detailed history behind how this charming chaya district was transformed into what it is today.
note: chaya = teahouse
The policy implemented by the Kaga lord Maeda Narinaga in 1820 played a pivotal role in the history of the Higashi Chaya-machi. This policy marked a turning point in Kanazawa’s chaya culture and laid the foundations for the present-day Higashi Chaya-District.
At the end of the Edo period, there were many chayas scattered around Kanazawa Castle, but these chayas were not well controlled by the clan and were a cause of disturbance to the public morals of the town. Kanazawa at the time was a prosperous centre of the Kaga clan, but the number of chayas increased with the development of the clan, and the difficulties of clan control became more and more pronounced. Chayas existed as places to entertain guests and enjoy the arts, but they were also gathering places for prostitutes. For this reason, the clan considered it imperative to properly manage the chayas and maintain order in the castle town.
In order to address these problems, Maeda Narinaga instituted a policy of consolidating the chayas in one location to improve the public morals of the town as a whole and to promote cultural development. In Bunsei 3, Narinaga decided to consolidate the chayas into two districts, ‘Higashi’ and ‘Nishi’, and officially allowed them to operate.
It was hoped that this policy would make the chayas districts easier to manage and improve the general morals of the town of Kanazawa. It also aimed to further enhance Kanazawa’s cultural appeal by consolidating chayas so that these places could function as centres of cultural exchange.
In the Meiji era, Kanazawa entered a new era, but the Higashi Chaya-District continued to preserve its traditions. The chayas district, which was developed under the policies of Narinaga, continued to maintain its form even under the new laws and regulations of the Meiji Government. In the course of modernisation, the Meiji Government began to emphasise the importance of traditional culture and townscapes and adopted policies to protect them. In this way, the Higashi Chaya-District maintained its form throughout the Meiji era and continued to exist as a symbol of Kanazawa’s traditional culture.
In the Showa period (1926-1989), Japan as a whole experienced rapid economic growth along with post-war reconstruction, and many traditional cultures and townscapes were in danger of being lost. However, the Higashi Chaya-District has managed to retain its unique atmosphere. In the 1970s, Kanazawa City designated the Higashi Chaya-District as a ‘preservation area’, and the preservation of historical buildings began in earnest. This initiative has enabled the chaya district to preserve its traditional townscape for future generations, and it is now a tourist destination that attracts many visitors from home and abroad.
In this way, it is no exaggeration to say that Maeda Narinaga’s policy of Bunsei 3 determined the history and future of Higashi Chaya-District. Without this policy, today’s Higashi Chaya-District might not exist. The urban planning and cultural preservation efforts of Narinaga were an important turning point in Kanazawa’s history, and its legacy still lives on today in the cityscape of Kanazawa.
Visitors to the Higashi Chaya-machi will be able to get a deeper sense of its charm by learning more about how the area was formed and its history. The changes brought about by the policies of Maeda Narinaga are an integral part of Kanazawa’s culture and history, and their legacy still lives on today in the atmospheric streets of Higashi Chaya-machi. Visitors will be more deeply moved by Kanazawa’s history and culture while admiring its beautiful townscape.
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