Kahoku-mon Gate | Kanazawa Castle Park

The Kahoku-mon gate, which serves as the main gate of Kanazawa Castle, has been restored to its former condition after 130years.

Characteristics and Overview of the Kahoku-mon Gate

Kahoku-mon Gate is a masugata-style gate complex located in the Sannomaru area and is said to be named for its orientation toward the Kahoku District. Considered the practical main gate of Kanazawa Castle, it was counted among the “Three Major Gates” of the castle along with the Ishikawa-mon Gate and Hashizume-mon Gate. The structures rebuilt in 1772 (An’ei 1), following the Great Fire of 1759 (Hōreki 9) which destroyed most of the castle, survived into the Meiji period until their removal around 1882 (Meiji 15). In 2010 (Heisei 22), the gate complex—including Ichino-mon (The First Gate), Nino-mon (The Second Gate), the masugata earthen walls, and the Nirami Yaguradai watchtower—was reconstructed. Restoration was carried out using traditional wooden construction methods faithful to historical evidence, based on Meiji-era photographs, Edo-period drawings and documents, and archaeological findings. Ishikawa craftsmanship is showcased throughout the work—from the Tomuro stone masonry and white plaster walls, to the wooden framework and the lead‑tiled roofs.

御城中壱分碁絵図（横山隆昭家蔵）／河北門の構成

Materials Used in the Restoration

Gojouchuu-ichibu-goezu (castle map) dated 1830 (Tenpō 1) and old photographs from the Meiji period served as essential references for the reconstruction.
Archaeological surveys confirmed the original foundation stones for the main posts of the Second Gate, and these stones were reused in the restored structure.

明治期の河北門（金沢大学附属図書館蔵）

First Gate (Ichino-mon)

The First Gate, which serves as the entrance from Shinmaru into Sannomaru, is a koraimon-style gate with a gabled roof, constructed entirely of zelkova wood.
The attached side walls feature a namako‑kabe finish, and the inner side of the walls contains hidden loopholes.
In times of war, the tiles of the namako‑kabe could be broken open to convert these into gun ports.

Second Gate (Nino-mon)

The Second Gate is a yaguramon-style structure with a turret placed atop the main doors.
On the inner side of the masugata, a projecting bay window equipped with ishi‑otoshi (stone‑dropping openings) is installed.
The gate doors, pillars, and beams are reinforced with 3 mm iron plates fixed with rivets, increasing their defensive strength.

Masugata Earthen Walls

The earthen walls enclosing the masugata were described in historical records as “the only concealed stone wall within the castle.”
Accordingly, in the restoration, the inner structure of the walls was built using stone masonry, finished on the outside with white plaster so that the stonework is not visible from the exterior—faithfully recreating the original design.

Nirami Yaguradai watchtower

Kahokumon once had a two‑story turret, known as the Niramiyagura, similar to the one at Ishikawamon, but this turret was lost in the Great Fire of 1759.
When the gate complex was rebuilt in 1772, the turret was not reconstructed and was instead replaced with an earthen wall featuring a projecting bay window.