Kanazawa City Ashigaru Museum 金沢市足軽資料館

Official explanation

At the Kanazawa City Ashigaru Museum, feudal-era Japan comes to life once more.

In the feudal era, the size and design of homes were determined by a family’s class and rank. Many houses visible in Nagamachi—with their earthen walls lining the streets, private entrance gates, and gardens just beyond—were the residences of middle-ranking samurai. Those of lower rank, on the other hand, had houses surrounded by hedges, which also enclosed gardens. Visitors can see such a structure in the Kanazawa City Ashigaru Museum.

Read the full explanation

Preserved at this museum are two of the oldest surviving examples of ashigaru housing. Ashigaru were foot soldiers in feudal Japan. During the Sengoku (“Warring States”) and the Momoyama periods from approximately 1467 to 1600, they made up battalions of archers and gunmen; but in the Kaga domain (feudal-era Ishikawa centered on Kanazawa) during the Edo period (1603–1867), they were designated the lowest rank of the samurai class.

Displayed in the museum are the Takanishi Family House and the Shimizu Family House, two ashigaru residences. Visitors can walk through these historical homes to learn more about ashigaru housing, life, and society.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.