Published: December 24, 2010
(Page 2 of 3)
In 2004, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art opened in a striking circular glass building designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, winners of the 2010 Pritzker Prize. Inside, pieces by Japanese artists like Noboru Tsubaki share space with works by James Turrell, Anish Kapoor and Jan Fabre. Outside, the periphery is also sprinkled with artworks, including “Colour activity house,” a spiral-shaped, multihued glass installation by Olafur Eliasson that was unveiled this year.
Modern and ancient styles come together at Kanazawa’s train station, which was revamped in 2005 to include a colossal glass-and-steel dome fronted by an equally large and impressive traditional wooden gate. The station will soon welcome the Shinkansen, Japan’s bullet train, when an extension of the Hokuriku line is completed in 2014. With a direct, high-speed line from Tokyo, travel time between the cities will be cut from about four hours to two and a half. Though this change will most likely be a boon for business and tourism, some residents are wary.
“Some people say that if the Shinkansen comes, the tourists won’t stay in Kanazawa, they will do daytrips,” said Mr. Yokokawa, the guesthouse owner. But for now, “the people who come to Kanazawa want to know Japan more deeply” and visitors are duly rewarded with a glimpse of the real Japan.
Complementing all that glorious architecture is the still-flourishing tradition of Japanese handicrafts — lacquerware, pottery, kimono design and gold leaf (99 percent of Japanese gold leaf is produced in the city) — which earned the city a Unesco City of Crafts and Folk Art designation in 2009. With tree-lined canals, wood-paneled teahouses and temple-dotted hills, Kanazawa is reminiscent of another well-preserved, though markedly more touristy Japanese city, Kyoto.
“Kanazawa is called ‘small Kyoto’ because the ambience is similar,” said Mr. Yokokawa, though the cities also share a history. Like Kyoto, “in World War II the Americans didn’t bomb Kanazawa, so many of the city’s old traditional things remain,” said Sakumi Sakai, a retired Kanazawa resident who was in the middle of an English lesson with Ms. Morita at the tourist center.
But it’s the garden that is the finest — and most enduring — attraction.
“This is one of the three most beautiful landscaped gardens in Japan,” said Noboru Orito, a volunteer tour guide for the Goodwill Guide Network. It’s an oft-uttered sentiment, as is the fact that the meticulously groomed garden incorporates the six characteristics — spaciousness, tranquillity, artifice, antiquity, aquatic elements and panoramic views — that collectively create the ideal, balanced Japanese garden. “Gardens with all six features are very rare,” he added.