During the Edo Period, Kanazawa was where the Maeda Clan was based, the second most powerful feudal clan after the Tokugawa clan. Producing vast quantities of rice, Kanazawa grew to become a beautiful town of great cultural achievement during this historic period, rivalling Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo).
During World War Two, Kanazawa was Japan's second-largest city (after Kyoto) to escape destruction by air raids, due to its historic significance. Consequently, parts of the old castle town, such as the Nagamachi samurai district and Chaya districts avoided destruction during air-raids and remain to be savoured & enjoyed today.
Kanazawa's unchallenged main attraction is Kenrokuen, one of Japan's three best landscape gardens and is considered by some to be the most beautiful of them all.