Sanjikken-nagaya Storehouse

At Kanazawa Castle, long storehouse‑style buildings that served both as warehouses and defensive walls were called nagaya. Their names were based on their length, such as Sanjikken Nagaya (Thirty‑Ken Row House) or Gojikken Nagaya (Fifty‑Ken Row House). In other castles, similar buildings are generally known as tamon‑yagura. The Sanjikken Nagaya on the Honmaru lower terrace was already in existence during the Kan’ei period (1624–1638) of the early Edo era, and at that time a turret stood at its northern end. The structure burned down in the great fire of 1759 (Hōreki 9), leaving only its stone foundation for many years. The row‑house portion was reconstructed in 1858 (Ansei 5) at the end of the Edo period, and this is the structure that survives today.

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The existing building measures 3 ken (about 5.3 m) in width, 26.5 ken (about 48.2 m) in length, and stands about 8.9 m above the stone foundation. The lower part of its plastered walls is decorated with namako‑kawara tiles. The eastern side, where the entrance is located, originally functioned as the rear of the building. The western side—with kara‑hafu and chidori‑hafu gables projecting from the façade—was the formal front, intended to present an imposing appearance toward the castle town.

The roof structure differs between the two ends: the southern side has a hip‑and‑gable (irimoya) roof, while the northern side has a gabled (kirizuma) roof. This is believed to have been done to facilitate attaching a connecting turret when the northern end was to be rebuilt. When reconstructed in the Ansei period, the roof remained wooden‑shingled, but it was later converted to tile roofing. The present lead‑tile roof dates from preservation work carried out in 1969 (Shōwa 44).