施設概要

高岡・山町筋の歴史

History of Takaoka and Yamacho-suji

高岡は慶長14年（1609）、加賀前田家二代当主・前田利長によって開かれました。当時関野ヶ原と呼ばれた地を「高岡」と改名し、高岡城に入城。関野ヶ原は庄川扇状地の末端にある台地で大きく三段に分かれていました。上段に城と武家屋敷、中段は碁盤目に道路が整備され、北陸街道沿いの表通りに商人町を、裏通りに職人町を整備し、職種に応じて場所を指定しました。下段は正方形の町割りからはずれ、下町となりました。利長は千保川と小矢部川の合流地に運送と木材・薪炭商売の特建を与え、千保川は水運の中心となりました。その後、千保川が改修され、川原町沿岸の船着場では射水郡・砺波郡から米や農産物が下され、伏木港からは小矢部川・千保川をさかのぼり材木や魚肥・昆布・塩干魚が荷揚げされ、高岡の流通の要となりました。慶長19年（1614）、利長が築城5年にして高岡で没し、さらに翌年の一国一城令によって高岡城は廃城となり、高岡は城下町としての存在意義を失います。高岡の窮状を憂いた三代当主の利常は、町人の他所転出を禁じて町年寄（町人の自治組織）を発足させ、魚問屋、塩問屋、米蔵、塩蔵などを設けるなど、高岡を商工業の町へと転換させる政策を進めました。以来、高岡は「加賀藩の台所」と呼ばれるほど米や綿などの集散地として繁栄し、中でも山町は長らく商都高岡の中心地として降盛を極めました。「山町」の呼称は国の重要有形民俗文化財である七基の高岡御車山を保存・継承する十か町に由来するもので、特に「山町筋」と呼ばれる地域は旧北陸道に面した町筋を指します。

Takaoka was founded in 1609 by Maeda Toshinaaga, the second head of the Kaga Maeda clan. The area formerly known as Sekino-ga-hara was renamed “Takaoka,” and he entered Takaoka Castle. Sekino-ga-hara is a plateau located at the end of the Shogawa alluvial fan, and it was divided into three large sections. The upper section featured castles and samurai residences, while the middle section had roads laid out in a grid pattern. Along the Hokuriku Highway, a merchant town was established on the main street, and a craftsmen’s town was established on the back street, with locations designated according to occupation. The lower section deviated from the square town layout and became a lower town. Toshinaga granted special privileges for transportation and the timber and charcoal trade at the confluence of the Senbo river and the Oyabe river, and the Senbo river became the center of water transportation. Later, the Senbo river was renovated, and at the wharves along the Kawaramachi coast, rice and agricultural products were transported from the districts of Imizu and Tonami, while at Fushiki Port, timber, fish fertilizer, kelp, and salted fish were unloaded after being transported upstream along the Oyabe river and the Senbo River, making it a key hub for distribution in Takaoka. In 1614, five years after the castle was built, Toshinaga died in Takaoka, and the following year, the One Castle per Province Law was enacted, resulting in the abandonment of Takaoka Castle and the loss of Takaoka’s significance as a castle town. Concerned about the plight of Takaoka, the third head of the family, Toshitsune, prohibited townspeople from moving away and established ”Machidoshiyori” (a self-governing organization of townspeople). He also set up fish wholesalers, salt wholesalers, rice warehouses, and salt warehouses, promoting policies to transform Takaoka into a commercial and industrial town. Since then, Takaoka has flourished as a hub for the distribution of rice, cotton, and other goods, earning it the nickname “the kitchen of the Kaga Domain.” Among these areas, Yamacho has long been the central district of the commercial city of Takaoka, reaching the peak of its prosperity. The name “Yamacho” originates from the ten towns that preserve and inherit the seven Takaoka Mikurumayama floats, designated as Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties of Japan. In particular, the area known as “Yamacho-suji” refers to the town street facing the old Hokuriku Road.