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About Nonoichi City

Nonoichi city is located in the center of the Tedori River alluvial fan. It borders Kanazawa City on the north and east, and Hakusan City on the south and west. The city stretches 4.5km east-west, 6.7km south-north to cover an area of 13.56km2.

The Okyozuka Remains (3,500 - 2,300 years ago), the Oshino Tachinaka Remains (2,500 - 1,800 years ago), the Okyozuka Shinden Burial Mounds in the north, and the Kambayashi and Suematsu Burial Mounds in the south show that the area was settled and well developed from ancient times.

Surveys have identified the former site of Suematsu Temple, which is thought to have been built in the late 7th century, and confirmed implementation of the land subdivision system (Jorisei) around Kambayashi. In addition, it is thought that the Kambayashi Shinjo and Shimoshinjo Arachi Remains represent the centers of settlements.

In the 11th century, the Hayashi and Togashi families appeared as leading local clans. The Hayashi Clan was based in and around Kambayashi, Nakabayashi, and Shimobayashi, and the Togashi Clan was based around the middle basin of Takahashi River in the east. The Hayashi Clan that supported the Imperial Court during the Jokyu War in 1221 was ruined while the Togashi Clan that supported the government increased its power.

The Nonoichi area already had organized markets at the end of the 13th century, taking advantage of its position where Hakusan Road and Hokuroku Road crossed. In 1335, Takaie Togashi, who became governor (shugo) of Kaga Province, began residing in Nonoichi, which supported Nonoichi's development as a center of politics and economy in Kaga Province. However, the Togashi Clan fell into decline after its loss in the Ikko Ikki (uprising of Ikko sect followers) in Kaga in 1488. After the foundation of Oyama Gobo Temple in 1546, the center of Kaga Province shifted from Nonoichi to Kanazawa.

Nonoichi was the first post town on Hokkoku Road heading from Kanazawa Castle to Kyoto during the Edo Period (1603-1868). Nonoichi also grew as an agricultural area near Kanazawa Castle.

Four villages (Nonoichi, Tomioku, Go, and Oshino) were founded during the Meiji Period (1868-1912) in 1889. The villages were merged into Nonoichi Town in 1955. The city gradually shifted from agriculture to a commercial and residential area from the 1970s. Nonoichi Town became Nonoichi City on November 11, 2011, and the current population exceeds 50,000.