Ishikawa-mon Gate | Kanazawa Castle Park

The Ishikawa-mon Gate served as the castle’s karamete‑mon (rear gate) and is a masugata‑style gate complex consisting of the front gate (the first gate), the turret gate (the second gate), flanking drum‑wall structures on the left and right, a two‑story, two‑level turret, and an attached single‑story turret.
A masugata gate is a defensive structure that forms a square courtyard enclosed by walls or long turret corridors. It takes its name from its resemblance to a masu, a traditional wooden measuring box.
This design allowed defenders to attack enemies who entered the courtyard from three sides, making it one of the strongest defensive configurations in Japanese castle architecture.

The Ishikawa Gate is believed to have been originally constructed before the Keichō era (in the late 16th century). Although it was damaged by fires in 1631 (Kan’ei 8) and again in 1759 (Hōreki 9), it was rebuilt in 1788 (Tenmei 8) and has survived to the present day. Among early modern Japanese castles, only the Ōtemon Gate of Osaka Castle and the Ishikawa Gate of Kanazawa Castle retain all of the masugata‑enclosing structures exactly as they were during the feudal period. For this reason, the Ishikawa Gate was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1950 (Shōwa 25).

Meiji‑period appearance

The ichinomon (first gate) is built in the Kōrai‑mon style, measuring 4.24 meters in width, 2.76 meters in depth, and 7.26 meters in ridge height, with drum‑wall structures attached on both sides. The ninomon (second gate) adopts the watari‑yagura style: the turret section measures 24.9 meters in length, 7.25 meters in width, and 12.04 meters in ridge height, and features a single kara‑hafu gable projection (ishi‑otoshi opening). The gate portion itself is entirely constructed of zelkova wood, measuring 9.05 meters wide and 5.82 meters deep. One distinctive feature unique to Kanazawa Castle is the incorporation of shirin brackets above the tie beam on the front-facing pillars. To the south stands a two‑story, two‑level turret with a rhombus‑shaped floor plan and a ridge height of 13.55 meters. All of these structures share the characteristic architectural style of Kanazawa Castle: roofs covered with lead tiles, white‑plastered walls with namako‑kabe lower sections, and corner pillars sheathed in iron plates.

Ichinomon Gate in the Koraimon Style

Ninomongate in the Yaguramon Style

Inside the Yaguramon Gate

The stone walls largely retain their appearance following the repairs carried out in 1765 (Meiwa 2), after the great Hōreki fire. The south side of the masugata is built in the Rough Stone Stacking Technique,in which the surfaces of split stones are finished with chisel work; large chisel marks can be observed on the stones.
From the west side to the north side, the walls employ fully Cut Stone Stacking Technique, in which the joining surfaces are precisely shaped so the stones fit together without gaps.
The attached drum‑walls (taiko‑bei) extend 93.8 meters on the left side, with one projecting turret section (dashi) along the length, and the Mizunote Gate located at the southern end.
On the right side, the walls extend 150.58 meters and contain three projecting sections.

Date of Important Cultural Property Designation	August 29, 1950 (Shōwa 25)
Original Construction	After the Keichō period (1596–1615)
Reconstruction	1788 (Tenmei 8)
Preservation and Repair Work	1953 (Shōwa 28), 2013 (Heisei 25)