Seisonkaku Villa

The Seisonkaku is a large Japanese villa in the city of Kanazawa, built in 1863 by Maeda Nariyasu, 13th daimyō of the Kaga clan, as a retirement home for his mother Shinryu-in. A collection of her personal effects is open to the public.

It is one of the few buildings in Japan to display the possessions of a daimyo family in their original surroundings. The main floor is built in the buke-shoin style, with a formal guest chamber Ekken-no-ma, and a traditional covered walkway which opens onto a beautiful small garden. The walkway, named Horsetail corridor, is famous for being 20 meters long, with no supporting beams holding up the roof. The roof is supported with a cantilever that extends 10 meters back into the building, a Meiji-period architectural innovation. The first floor showcases extensive architectural uses of artwork, from painted screens and doors to stained glass imported from the Netherlands.