The , also known as Kyū Shiba Rikyū Onshi Teien ("Former Shiba Villa Imperial Gift Gardens") is a public

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

and former imperial garden in Minato ward, Tokyo, Japan. The garden is one of four surviving

Edo-period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterize ...

clan gardens in Tokyo, the others being Koishikawa Kōraku-en,

Rikugi-en is a Tokyo metropolitan park in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Bunkyō-ku. The name ''Rikugi-en'' means "Garden of the Six Principles", referring to the six elements in ''Waka (poetry), waka'' poetry, based on the traditional division of Chinese poetry into ...

, and Hama Rikyu Garden. Kyū Shiba Rikyū is often regarded as the most beautifully designed garden in Tokyo, and was once called the "most beautiful" scene in Japan.Kyu-Shiba-rikyu Gardens, Tokyo
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History

The site of the Kyū Shiba Rikyū Garden was originally part of

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...

. The land was reclaimed between 1655 and 1658. In 1678 the site was used for the official

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

style residence of Ōkubo Tadamoto (1604–1670), member of the

Ōkubo clan The were a ''samurai'' kin group which rose to prominence in the Sengoku period and the Edo periods.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit."Universität Tübingen (in German) Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the Ōkubo, as heredita ...

and an official of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. The residence garden was designed by garden designers from the

Odawara Domain 250px, Odawara Castle, Headquarters of the Odawara Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located primarily in western Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture). It was centered on Odawara Castle in what is now the city of Odawar ...

, until 1614 under the rule of ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

s'' from the Ōkubo clan. The garden was then known as Rakujuen. At that time, the garden included a beach to Tokyo Bay, however, as Tokyo expanded the sea next to the garden was

reclaimed Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lak ...

, and there is no connection to the ocean anymore. A remaining ocean water inlet is not used. The residence changed ownership throughout time, and around 1860 belonged to the Kishū family of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

. In 1871 the ownership changed again to the

Arisugawa-no-miya The was one of the shinnōke, branches of the Imperial Family of Japan which were, until 1947, eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the event that the main line should die out. History The Arisugawa-no-miya house was founded by Pr ...

clan. In 1875, the

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD, up until the Second World War, it ...

purchased the residence and it became the Shiba Detached Imperial Villa and in 1891 a European style guest house was constructed. In the

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

on September 1, 1923, all buildings and trees on the site were destroyed by fire. Subsequently, in January 1924, the site was donated to

Tokyo City was a Cities of Japan, municipality in Japan and part of Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo-fu which existed from 1 May 1889 until its merger with its prefecture on 1 July 1943. The historical boundaries of Tokyo City are now occupied by ...

as part of celebrations preceding the

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

(1926 to 1989) of

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

. The garden was rebuilt and opened to the public on April 20, 1924. In 1979 the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

designated the garden as a ''place of scenic beauty'' and ''special historic interest''. The size of the garden, however, was reduced to make space for the railway tracks on the north side.

Layout

The garden has an area of 43,070.53 m². There is a circular path around the central pond ''Sensui'' (9,000 m²), which is the focus of the garden. Originally this was a salt water pond, however, as the land around was reclaimed the pond was converted to freshwater. The pond includes four islands, the central ''Nakajima'' and the smaller ''Ukishima'', ''Oshima'', and ''Yukimi-toro''. Two bridges allow crossing of the pond via the larger island ''Nakajima''. ''Oshima'' is close to the shore and can also be crossed. The inspiration for the pond originates from

West Lake West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural is ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

, and the rocks on the central island represent the mountains of West Lake. One corner of the pond includes a sandy beach area named ''Suhama'', although swimming is not recommended. The highest point of the park is the Oyama hill, from which a dry waterfall made from stone named ''Karetaki'' flows. A stone

lantern A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...

provides supposedly a good spot for snow viewing, although Tokyo rarely gets snow nowadays. Notable is also the wisteria trellis in the picnic area, especially when the wisteria blooms at the beginning of May. Besides the garden office there is also a

Japanese Archery Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspo ...

range and a children's playground. The garden is surrounded by High-rise buildings and Skyscrapers.

Plants and animals

Plants found in the garden include

Japanese black pine ''Pinus thunbergii'' (syn: ''Pinus thunbergiana''), also called black pine, Japanese black pine, and Japanese pine, is a pine tree native to coastal areas of Japan (Kyūshū, Shikoku and Honshū) and South Korea. It is called () in Korean, () ...

, camphor trees,

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

, ''

Persea ''Persea'' is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, ''P. americana'', widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit. O ...

'',

Japanese iris The term "Japanese iris" encompasses three species of Irises cultivated in gardens or growing wild in Japan: ''hanashōbu'' (''Iris ensata''), ''kakitsubata'' ('' Iris laevigata'') and ''ayame'' (''Iris sanguinea''). Of these three species, ''I. ...

, ''

Platycodon grandiflorus ''Platycodon grandiflorus'' (from Ancient Greek "wide" and "bell") is a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the family Campanulaceae, and the only member of the genus ''Platycodon''. It is native to East Asia (China, Korea, Japa ...

'', ''

Crinum latifolium ''Crinum latifolium'' is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). It arises from an underground bulb. The flowering stems are stout, reaching about 2 m in height. The leaves are long, linear and ligul ...

'', Japanese wisteria, leopard plant, and

spider lily Spider lily is the common name for a number of different plant species within the family Amaryllidaceae which belong to the following genera: * ''Crinum'', a genus of about 180 species of perennial plants in the family Amaryllidaceae found along ...

. Wildlife include little egrets,

Eastern spot-billed duck The eastern spot-billed duck or Chinese spot-billed duck (''Anas zonorhyncha'') is a species of dabbling duck that breeds in East and Southeast Asia. This species was formerly considered a subspecies of the Indian spot-billed duck and both were ...

s, and

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

s, seasonally also

tufted duck The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding ra ...

s, and

common pochard The common pochard (; ''Aythya ferina'') is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ''ferina'', "wild game", f ...

Location

The park is located at 1-4-1 kaigan, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 105–0022, close to the JR

Hamamatsuchō Station is a railway station in Hamamatsuchō, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and also by Tokyo Monorail. Lines Hamamatsuchō Station is served by two JR East lines: the circular Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tōhok ...

Exit 1, or a five-minute walk from Daimon Station. The garden is also close to the Hamarikyu Gardens and the Tokyo World Trade Center.

References

External links