Kanazawa Bunko Museum

The Kanazawa Bunko Museum was a private library when it was established around 1275 by Sanetoki Hojo, a samurai warrior in the mid-Kamakura Era. In 1990, it became a history museum for precious cultural artifacts and research studies related to the Kamakura Era. Exhibits cover paintings, including portraits of successive Kanazawa Hojo warriors (Sanetoki, Akitoki, Sadaaki and Sadamasa); Buddhist sculptures using the Hojo clan warriors as motifs; and treasures such as crystal Gyoku-kemam (Buddhist ritual ornaments with beads), the only extant example in Japan and an Important Cultural Property. The museum also contains 13,000 books and ancient documents on history, politics, literature and religion; the 4,000 letters written by members of the Hojo clan and monks at Shomyo-ji Temple provide a glimpse into daily life during the Kamakura Era. A 12-minute walk from Kanazawa-bunko Station on the Keikyu Line brings you to the museum.