Kanazawa, the Japanese City Time Almost Forgot日本金澤：被時(shí)光遺忘的城市

by Chaney Kwak

烏蕪 譯

Kanazawa, the Japanese City Time Almost Forgot日本金澤：被時(shí)光遺忘的城市

提起日本金澤，大家可能都沒怎么聽過，但它卻是日本人非常喜歡的一個(gè)度假城市。優(yōu)美的自然風(fēng)光、厚重的歷史底蘊(yùn)、悠閑的城市氛圍等因素使其成為了日本人心中的“治愈之城”。

by Chaney Kwak

烏蕪 譯

T he first thing I noticed as I stepped off the train in Kanazawa was the hypermodernity of its railway station, which is covered by a glittering glass dome.The second thing I noticed was the utter absence of foreign visitors.This was a contrast from the few days I had just spent in Kyoto, which is one of my favorite Japanese cities but this time seemed to be overrun with Western tourists in rented1)kimonosmugging for the smartphones on the ends of their selfe-sticks.

Kanazawa, for the moment, anyway, is a refreshingly low-key affair.This 16th-century castle town of some 460,000 on Japan’s west coast has remained blissfully off the radar of most overseas travelers, but has long been a favorite getaway for the Japanese.

Designated a2)UNESCOCity of Crafts and Folk Art, Kanazawa has serious artistic credibility and is a center for artisans who produce3)lacquerware, textiles and other crafts using traditional techniques.None of these is more identifed with Kanazawa than gold leaf.True to the city’s name, which means golden marsh, Kanazawa produces virtually all the gold leaf made in Japan, where they like to cover everything from monuments to food with the stuff.

At Hakuza Honten, a local store that specializes in all things gilded, I watched customers shop for4)varnishedjewelry cases and bowls that cost many thousands of dollars, or souvenirs that they traditionally bring home for friends and co-workers.These shiny goodies glittered plenty, but what really caught my eye was the replica of a 16th-century5)shogun’s traveling tearoom that was covered in so much gold leaf it literally glowed behind its protective glass wall.

1 ) kimono [k?'m??n??] n.和服

2 ) UNESCO [ju?'nesk??] n.聯(lián)合國教科文組織（United Nations Educational, Scientifc, and Cultural Organization）

3 ) lacquer ['l?k?] n.漆，漆器

4 ) varnished ['vɑ?n??t] adj.浸漬過的，涂漆的

5 ) shogun ['???,gu?n] n.日本幕府時(shí)代的將軍

當(dāng)我走下到達(dá)金澤的火車時(shí)，我首先注意到的是金澤火車站的超現(xiàn)代設(shè)計(jì)，那閃閃發(fā)亮的玻璃穹頂。接著，我發(fā)現(xiàn)這里完全看不到外國游客，這與我前陣子在京都看到的情況形成鮮明的對(duì)比。京都是我最為喜愛的日本城市之一，但現(xiàn)在那里似乎滿街都是穿著租來的和服，舉著自拍桿，對(duì)著智能手機(jī)做各種表情拍照的外國游客。

但無論如何，就目前而言，金澤仍是一座低調(diào)而使人耳目一新的城市。金澤位于日本的西岸，人口約為46萬，這座始建于16世紀(jì)的城堡小鎮(zhèn)至今尚未受到海外游客的矚目，但卻一直是日本人非常喜愛的度假地點(diǎn)。

金澤被聯(lián)合國教科文組織評(píng)為“手工藝與民間藝術(shù)之都”，具有極高的藝術(shù)價(jià)值，是傳統(tǒng)工匠制作漆器、紡織物以及其他手工藝品的中心。但其中最能代表金澤的要數(shù)金箔。與其名字相符，金澤（意為金色的沼澤）幾乎出產(chǎn)了日本所有的金箔。在日本，人們喜歡用金箔裝點(diǎn)一切，從紀(jì)念碑到食物。

我在箔座本店（當(dāng)?shù)匾婚g專賣鍍金飾品的商店）看到許多顧客前來購買價(jià)值數(shù)千美元的鍍金珠寶盒和碗，或者是一些他們習(xí)慣給朋友和同事帶回去的紀(jì)念品?！?br>