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Kanazawa is an old castle town on the northern coast of the Japan Sea, at the base of a rocky peninusula that makes up Ishikawa Prefecture. Though the prefecture as a whole is quite rural, and composed largely of fishing and farming villages, Kanazawa has been a large city since the Edo era, when it was the seat of government for the entire Hokuriku Region. Though several small teams from the area made half-hearted bids to advance into contention for a J.League position, none made it very far until around the turn of the century.
At the end of 2005 an independent corporation was established under the name Ishikawa Football Club Co., Ltd., and persuaded former JEF United star and NHK football commentator Michel Miyazawa to serve as the team's advisor and Technical Director. The following year a competition was held to select a new name to go with its new organization, and the winning suggestion was "Zweigen Kanazawa". The name is derived from the German words "Zwei" (two) and "Gehen" (to go). This was supposed to indicate that the team and its fans would advance together, and set out in search of glory as a professional football club. The team's mascot is a Sea Eagle or "Inuwashi", a common bird on the rocky shoreline of Ishikawa Prefecture. His name -- Genzo -- may not seem to have much relation to the team name, but it recalls a popular local character who served the warlord Minamoto Yoshitsune.
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