Kaga

Kaga refers to a historic region and several related contemporary places in Japan. The core historical use is Kaga Province (加賀国), a former province on the Sea of Japan coast of central Honshu. Its territory roughly corresponds to parts of today’s Ishikawa Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture, with Kanazawa serving as the provincial center.

During the Edo period, Kaga Province was governed as Kaga Domain by the Maeda clan. It was one of the wealthiest and most powerful domains, with a kokudaka estimated around one million koku. The domain fostered a flourishing urban culture centered on Kanazawa, producing notable arts such as Kaga-yaki pottery and contributing to the region’s reputation for craftsmanship and gardens, including the famous Kenroku-en.

In the modern era, the name lives on in present-day places and cultural references. Kaga City is a municipality in Ishikawa Prefecture, a coastal city formed through postwar municipal mergers. The region remains associated with historic sites, traditional crafts, and scenic destinations, including hot spring towns such as Yamanaka Onsen. Contemporary tourism often highlights the Edo-period heritage of the former Kaga Domain, its crafts, and landscape of the Noto and Hakusan areas.

In addition to its geographic uses, Kaga appears in cultural contexts such as Kaga-yaki pottery and Kutani ware, both tied to the historic Kaga region. The term is also encountered as a surname and in historical writings that describe the politics, economy, and culture of premodern Japan.