Rokuto no Hiromi

“Hiromi” are what the wide, open spaces dotting the streets of Kanazawa are called. It is said they were made to provide protection from fires long ago when the town was first being built up. The Rokuto no Hiromi is said to be the largest hiromi in the city and it sprawls in front of the Myoryuji Temple, famously nicknamed the “Ninja Temple. Located in an area where few tourists visit, this place allows one to imagine what the ancient townscape once looked like. It is also said to have been used in ceremonies to welcome and send off the national government’s traveling envoys in the Edo period, and to turn around coaches as part of a strategy to lure enemies in times of conflict.