Oyama Shrine is dedicated to Maeda Toshiie, the warlord whose family shaped Kanazawa and the Kaga domain. Its fame comes from the Shinmon gate, a curious 1875 structure that mixes Japanese, Chinese and European details, including coloured glass high in the tower. It looks slightly improbable, which makes it memorable among Kanazawa's more restrained historic sights.
The shrine is easy to fold into a walk between Kanazawa Castle, Kenroku-en and Nagamachi. Do not rush straight through the gate: the pond garden behind it is calm and compact, and the shrine is especially atmospheric after dark when the gate is lit. It is a good stop for seeing how Kanazawa's samurai history continued into the early modern city.