Rare traditional crafts
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Kaga fishing flies In Kaga clan fishing in the river was a privilege of samurai, so they made up many different kinds of fishing hooks, and one of the local inventions was a fishing fly for Ayu - Japanese sweetfish. |
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Tea kettles These are made with a lot of various techniques, still brought up as one solid thing. The tough, firm body is a characteristic feature, and these kettles are beloved by tea ceremony masters all over the country. |
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Gongs Gongs are musical instruments used mainly in tea rooms. Shape, carves, thickness - all these are mastered to extract the best sounding. An extra deepness is added to make the beating better. |
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Koto - a Japanese zither Kotos had spread widely in Kanazawa at the Shogunate times. Playing Koto was part of the education given to girls in warrior families, starting from the clan’s first lady and the princess. |
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Kanazawa’s umbrellas in Japanese style. The unique feature of Kanazawa’s umbrellas is that the center part of it is covered with four layers of lacquered paper, making stronger this weak part. Thus local umbrellas are tougher that the ones made elsewhere. |
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Sangen - a Japanese banjo. Sangen is an instrument also often called Samisen. In Shogunate times performing arts and learning them was very popular in Kanazawa, and this instrument came to our days since then. |
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Kaga mizuhiki - ceremonial package strings These were originally used to express respect when giving a gift to somebody, and mainly used for cheerful occasions. |
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Japanese paper from Futamata village It is said that Futamata paper has a history of 1300 years. The village was a place of making paper that was contributed to Shogunate, so it was under a special patronage from Kaga clan. Very high quality official-use paper was made there. |
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Kaga inlaying Inlaying was used for instance in sword’s equipment, so it was very demanded by warriors. |
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Bamboo crafts Artistic bamboo craft techniques were developed for tea ceremony utensils and flower arrangement utensils. Nowadays the woven tea ceremony utensils and flower vases are made using the bamboo’s characteristic features. |
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Kaga lanterns Lanterns were invented in the second half of 16th century as portable light sources to replace torches. Nowadays they are mainly made under order for use in festivals or for decoration. |
