ST040 Oyama Shrine

Snow Treasure

Painting size: 16cm x 23cm

Framing size: 32.5cm x 42cm

Oyama Shrine is the most popular shrine in Kanazawa and a representative tourist spot in the city. Its main draw is undoubtedly the shrine gate, a fusion of Japanese, Chinese, and Western architectural styles, with stained glass (giyaman) embedded in the top floor.

I have drawn the main gate of Oyama Shrine many times, but I am always drawn to its exquisite balance of three stories, its brickwork, the wooden frame on the second floor, and the mystical stained glass on the top floor—a truly rare structure. I am amazed by the sense of design and construction of the people who designed and built this building. It was newly constructed in 1876, the 6th year of the Meiji era.

Oyama Shrine is dedicated to Maeda Toshiie, the founder of the Kaga Domain, and his wife, Lady Omatsu. A statue of Lady Omatsu in her younger days has been erected there to commemorate the NHK historical drama "Toshiie and Matsu." We must not forget the contributions of the second lord, Toshinaga, who made a difficult choice to ensure the survival of the Kaga Domain after Toshiie's death, the third lord, Toshitsune, born to Toshiie's concubine, and Princess Tama, who married into the Tokugawa family at the age of three. Supporting all of this from behind the scenes was Lady Omatsu (Hoshun-in), who was forced to live in Edo as a hostage of the Tokugawa family.

Oyama Shrine is known for its blessings of marital harmony, but every time I visit, every time I paint, I unconsciously feel a connection to a mother's heart.

The framing by Takayo Kawasaki also brilliantly captures the atmosphere of the space.