Kanazawa Castle Park

Foundation

Big pieces of wood, called "dodai" or "ashigatame", are placed crosswise under the floors. The "ashigatame" wood pieces on a stonewall at San-no-maru have a foundation stone placed underneath their center, so that the weight of the building works like a balance. As a result, even if a part of the stonewall falls apart, the building will not collapse. To achieve this balance, everything had to be calculated in great detail, for example, where the foundation stone should be laid and how the wood pieces should be attached.