Kanazawa's second best tourist attraction is a temple called Myoryu-ji. Also known as the Ninja Temple, it is full of traps and tricks, but has nothing to do with guys in black pajamas. The nickname comes from the numerous secret doors, hidden tunnels, pit traps, and secret rooms where samurai waited to stab intruders through the shoji (paper screens). Built in 1643, Myoryu-ji was constructed at a time of great political intrigue and shows that either life was incredibly dangerous in those days, or the builders were incredibly paranoid. It's the only one of it's kind in Japan so the latter explanation seems more likely. Take the 20 minute tour, and you will first be shown the main hall, which looks like an ordinary temple, but had hiding places for samurai guards, and a donation box which also functioned as a pit trap. Taking the stairs down from the main hall, the guide shows you the secret space where guards with long, wicked-looking spears waited to spear the legs of intruders through the paper screens between the steps. There are also several ingenious secret entrances, and an old well, which is said to contain a secret passage that leads all the way to Kanazawa castle. Although it appears to be a two-storey building when viewed from outside, it actually has four floors. The reason for the deceiving appearance is that during the Edo period it was illegal to construct buildings with more than three floors. There are numerous secret rooms in the temple, the most carefully concealed of which was the "suicide room" where the lord could commit seppuku if the temple was overrun by enemies.
Kanazawa's second best tourist attraction is a temple called Myoryu-ji. Also known as the Ninja Temple, it is full of traps and tricks, but has nothing to do with guys in black pajamas. The nickname comes from the numerous secret doors, hidden tunnels, pit traps, and secret rooms where samurai waited to stab intruders through the shoji (paper screens). Built in 1643, Myoryu-ji was constructed at a time of great political intrigue and shows that either life was incredibly dangerous in those days, or the builders were incredibly paranoid. It's the only one of it's kind in Japan so the latter explanation seems more likely. Take the 20 minute tour, and you will first be shown the main hall, which looks like an ordinary temple, but had hiding places for samurai guards, and a donation box which also functioned as a pit trap. Taking the stairs down from the main hall, the guide shows you the secret space where guards with long, wicked-looking spears waited to spear the legs of intruders through the paper screens between the steps. There are also several ingenious secret entrances, and an old well, which is said to contain a secret passage that leads all the way to Kanazawa castle. Although it appears to be a two-storey building when viewed from outside, it actually has four floors. The reason for the deceiving appearance is that during the Edo period it was illegal to construct buildings with more than three floors. There are numerous secret rooms in the temple, the most carefully concealed of which was the "suicide room" where the lord could commit seppuku if the temple was overrun by enemies.
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