ABOUT
About this spot
Oyama Shrine in Oyama-machi, Kanazawa, enshrines Maeda Toshiie, the founder of the Kaga domain, and his wife Hoshun-in (Omatsu) as its main deities. Maeda Toshinaga and Maeda Toshitsune are also enshrined, and the shrine is known for prayers for business success, victory and a happy marriage. It is close to Kanazawa Castle and easy to combine with a walk around the city. After Toshiie died in 1599, a shrine to him was kept as the Utatsu Hachiman Shrine, though it had declined by the late Edo period. After the Meiji Restoration, former retainers carried out a plan and Oyama Shrine was founded on March 14, 1873, on the site of the Kanaya Palace in Kanazawa Castle. It was raised to a special government shrine in 1902, and Hoshun-in was enshrined in 1998. The highlight is the Shinmon gate, an Important Cultural Property completed in 1875 in a mixed Japanese, Chinese and Western style. It is said to have been built by the carpenter Tsuda Kichinosuke. Colored glass is set in its top floor, which is said to have served as a lighthouse, and the lightning rod is introduced as one of the oldest in Japan. Behind it is the Shinen garden, laid out from the garden of the Kanaya Palace and designated a scenic site by Ishikawa Prefecture, with a pond, the Koto Bridge and the Biwa Island. The Higashi Shinmon gate came from the Ninomaru Palace of Kanazawa Castle and is a registered Tangible Cultural Property. Allow 30 to 40 minutes. Kanazawa Castle is about 390 m away and Nagamachi about 420 m.
Last updated October 23, 2026