Ishikawa, a land blessed with rich food and traditional culture
Feature
Ishikawa is a prefecture located on the Sea of Japan side of central Honshu. The population is about 1.12 million and the Prefectural capital is Kanazawa city. Due to the influence of the monsoon from the Sea of Japan side, there is a lot of rainfall, and heavy snow falls in the mountainous areas in winter.
Ishikawa is also famous for inheriting many traditional crafts. The Kaga domain, which had this area as its territory during the Edo period (1600-1868), encouraged arts and crafts such as lacquer ware, textiles, and ceramics. Even now, 36 kinds of traditional crafts are inherited in Ishikawa.
Kenrokuen, which was a daimyo garden of the Kaga domain, is one of the three famous gardens in Japan. This garden is visited by many tourists to see the beauty of the four seasons.
Traditional crafts and Local specialties
"Wajima-Nuri" and "Yamanaka-Nuri" are traditional crafts of Ishikawa. Both of these are lacquer ware, but each has different characteristics.
Wajima-Nuri is a lacquer ware that features elegant patterns using gold, such as "Chinkin (gilded line engraving)" and "Maki-e (lacquer decoration)". Wajima-Nuri has items that color your life: bowls, chopsticks, tea ware and flower vases. On the other hand, Yamanaka-Nuri is a simple and warm lacquer ware that makes the best use of the grain of wood. It is mainly used as a bowl at Japanese dining tables.
In Ishikawa, which is close to the Sea of Japan, abundant seafood such as yellowtail, mackerel, and oysters are caught.
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