Asanogawa Bridge Fire Watchtower

Kanazawa's Oldest Fire Watchtower

The Asanogawa Bridge Fire Watchtower (浅野川大橋詰火の見櫓) is a steel fire watchtower of 1924 in Higashiyama, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, at the north end of the Asanogawa Bridge, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 10, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a steel structure 11 metres high, altered in 1971; registration number 17-0128.

The City's Oldest Surviving Watchtower

The Asanogawa Bridge Fire Watchtower is the oldest surviving fire lookout tower in Kanazawa (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It stands at the north end of the Asanogawa Bridge.

A cast-iron nameplate shows that it was built by Takata Shokai, a firm in the city (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Asanogawa Bridge Fire Watchtower was registered as a structure that would not be easy to reproduce, a rare surviving large steel watchtower of the Taisho era.

What to Look For

Including its railing it is about 11 metres high, a steel tower on a triangular plan (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its posts and cross members are angle steel, the bracing is steel rod, and arches are used in places.

Look up from the foot of the Asanogawa Bridge Fire Watchtower and you can read the slender triangular form and the framework of angle steel.

Visiting

The Asanogawa Bridge Fire Watchtower stands by the road at the north end of the bridge, and its exterior can be seen freely. It is at 3-1-2 Higashiyama, Kanazawa, and owned by Kanazawa City (Agency for Cultural Affairs).