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Celebrated Meiji Era novelist Izumi Kyōka sets his stage in the long-established ryokan outside of Hokuriku Kanazawa

We feel there are important distinctions to separate Kanazawa Tatsunokuchi Onsen Matsusaki and the Hokuriku Kaga Onsen located in the suburbs of Kanazawa (Yamashiro, Yamanaka, Katayamazu and Awazu Onsens) and Wakura hot spring in Noto Peninsula. Matsusaki is characterized by its long traditions of elegence, understatement and natural wonder. Matsusaki in the Edo Period serves as the setting for Meiji era writer Izumi Kyoka's novel. More recently, the onsen has undergone two major reforms with the addition of the large bathhouse by the new building, new open-air baths, and enhanced facilities such as the addition of open-air baths to some rooms. Matsusaki is also the closest hot spring to Komatsu Airport, providing convenient access to tourist destinations in Kanazawa, Tokyo, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Okinawa. The source of the onsen is under the garden; a smooth-type hot spring which is most effective for the promotion of good health.

History

Established in 7th Year Tempō (1836 A.D.)

In the 8th century Nara era, the monk Taicho climbed Mount Haku and established a shrine. He also opened Tatsunokuchi hot spring. Since then it has been visited by countless individuals for the healing of their wounds. Although the source ceased to flow for a time (when it was buried in the flood of Tedorigawa during the Muromachi era) the founder of our inn Jinshirō re-escavated the source in the late Edo Period, in 1836. The history of Tatsunokuchi onsen would begin again.Since then many guests come and stay at Matsusaki.

kyoka Izumi

The ryokan of Izumi Kyōka’s novels

Kyoka Izumi is known as a representive Meiji era novelist. Born in Kanazawa, Kyoka lost his mother at an early age and was frequently taken in by his beloved aunt in Tatsunokuchi hot spring. He observed the haunting elegance and the highly polished female sensibilities of the geikos working there. Kyoka wrote “Umi no Naru Toki” (The Time the Sea Rang), set in Matsusaki Ryokan, while staying there. It can be said that his experiences in the inn gave spark to the novelist in the young man. Please do see Kyoka’s own prized inkwell and a haiku written by the author’s hand in this ryokan.

Garden

The beauty of the Japanese landscape gardens and the pond “Shōsenko” is woven in the changing of the four seasons

We are the keepers of a lush garden to help us welcome our guests to the inn. A passageway leads arriving visitors over the pond we call Shōsenko, where Nature’s welcome party plays. Japanese carp swim in languid circles while white heron, egret, chirping kingfishers and migratory birds rest their wings on the tree-lined banks. The cherry blossoms in spring, in summer the water lily and lotus flowers bloom. In autumn, the beauty of the changing leaves is followed by the serene quiet of winter’s snow cover. Please feel free to take a walk here after your bath in the cool of the evening, or before or after breakfast.

Map