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Kanazawa
Those of you who have been reading my Haru fics may know that my fanon version of Onozuka was born and raised in the city of Kanazawa, which is most famous for having been the domain of the Maeda clan, headed by the daimyo (feudal lord) Maeda Toshiie, in the Sengoku and Edo eras. (First mentioned in Going Steady Part 2.) I know it's been awhile since my last fic, but I am still working on the series, and eventually the storyline will take Onozuka back to his hometown.
So as research, I started looking for books on Kanazawa and found that there wasn't much available, at least in English, but I did find one very nice travel guide called Kanazawa: The Other Side of Japan by Ruth Stevens. (Out of print, but available as a used book for a decent price on Amazon.) It was published in 1979, so as you can imagine, it's quite a bit out of date, but the historical sites connected with the Maeda clan (e.g. Kanazawa Castle, the Kenrokuen garden, Oyama Shrine) still exist and are still popular tourist attractions. Probably some of the shops and restaurants mentioned in the book no longer exist, but from what I've been able to research on the web, it does seem to nicely capture the feeling of Kanazawa being a modern city while still maintaining a traditional feeling and honoring its cultural heritage. I originally picked Kanazawa as Onozuka's birthplace on a whim, but it turns out to be the perfect place for someone like Onozuka's very tradtionally-minded father. Several sweet shops were mentioned in the book, and I like to imagine that one of them could be Onozuka-papa's store, still in business after more than 30 years! ^_^
And according to the official Kanazawa website, the city is still well known for the traditional arts and crafts mentioned in the book, such as Noh theater, lacquerware, gold leaf production, textiles, and pottery. From my very limited knowledge, I get the impression that the overall "feel" of the book is still accurate.
And I did find a 2011 Kanazawa travel guide available as a Kindle book! The sample pages seem to show most of the same information that I've already seen in the older book and on the web, but since it's only $2.99, I figure it's worth taking a chance on and I'll most likely buy it.
At the library, I also found Kanazawa: A Seventeenth-Century Japanese Castle Town by James L. McClain, which as the title implies, covers the history of Kanazawa in the 17th century. It was less useful as a resource for my Haru fics, but it did provide an interesting historical background for the city. The Maeda clan were former rivals to the reigning Tokugawa clan, and in order to allay suspicion and prove themselves not a threat, the Maeda began investing their money in the arts rather than military pursuits, which is how Kanazawa's rich cultural history developed.
I'm not sure how much of this information will actually make it into the story, but I really enjoyed doing the research!
And according to the official Kanazawa website, the city is still well known for the traditional arts and crafts mentioned in the book, such as Noh theater, lacquerware, gold leaf production, textiles, and pottery. From my very limited knowledge, I get the impression that the overall "feel" of the book is still accurate.
And I did find a 2011 Kanazawa travel guide available as a Kindle book! The sample pages seem to show most of the same information that I've already seen in the older book and on the web, but since it's only $2.99, I figure it's worth taking a chance on and I'll most likely buy it.
At the library, I also found Kanazawa: A Seventeenth-Century Japanese Castle Town by James L. McClain, which as the title implies, covers the history of Kanazawa in the 17th century. It was less useful as a resource for my Haru fics, but it did provide an interesting historical background for the city. The Maeda clan were former rivals to the reigning Tokugawa clan, and in order to allay suspicion and prove themselves not a threat, the Maeda began investing their money in the arts rather than military pursuits, which is how Kanazawa's rich cultural history developed.
I'm not sure how much of this information will actually make it into the story, but I really enjoyed doing the research!