Wooden Lattice Houses and Streets

Higashichaya, Nishichaya and Kazuemachi are the three traditional entertainment districts in Kanazawa.

And here you find these wooden latticed houses. They have a peculiar feature – or may be it is an impression that they leave after all – it is that of being at the same time open and quite closed. Sometimes they resemble elaborate, multilevel Chinese bird cages. With of course the difference that the inhabitants would have been human sized, mostly female and under certain conditions one could enter that cage, whereas getting out of this cage must have been equally difficult. On the other hand walking these streets today, in particular the more deserted quarters, brings along rather different associations, rather those of rest and calm and the protecting cloak of privacy.

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Higashi Chaya Gai Street View
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Street View at Kazuemachi District (historical houses)
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Asagao (Morning Glory)
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Remote Entrances (Kazuemachi)
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More than just a tree at Nishichaya District
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Nishi Chaya Gai District, Street View
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On the right hand side: Seat of the Teahouse Association (Kenban)

 

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