The architecture is distinctly feminine, with a red gate, graceful beams, delicate timbering, and gold-flecked walls. If you don't wish to pay the admission fee, you are permitted to walk into the garden and at least see a portion of the main room. The chief exhibits are exquisite kimonos, painted shoji, called fusuma and a variety of woodblock prints. The Western-style chandeliers show the influence of the Meiji Restoration. Nearby is the Ishikawa Gokoku Jinja, built in 1939 and used as a memorial to WW II soldiers.
Parents come here to celebrate the auspicious third, fifth, and seventh birthdays of their children.
Also in the immediate area is Gyokusen-en, the landscape garden of the Nishida family. The bi-level garden is laid out around a pond and designed so that you can view the entire garden from one spot. The upper level, known as Saisetsu-tei Roji, surrounds a famous teahouse. The castle grounds are now occupied by Kanazawa University. During Maeda rule, all artists were required to do extracurricular activities outside of their normal fields of expertise, and many chose the performing arts.