Noto Nakai Cast Metal Museum

This history museum presents Noto's traditional culture of metal casting. The history of metal casting in Noto is extensive, dating all the way back to the late Heian period according to documents. For the next 800 years, Noto flourished as a center for the production of cast metal items such as shiogama pans used to make salt. Metal casting in the area died out in the modern Taisho period due to the pressure imposed by low-priced metal products from Takaoka. The museum displays examples of locally cast metal items and tools used in metal casting during the area's bygone heyday. There are also ancient documents which illuminate the connections between area metal casters and the Matsugi family, a noble family hereditarily in charge of metal casters across the country.