Rikugien Gardens Tokyo Metropolitan Park

Rikugien Gardens Tokyo Metropolitan Park

Rikugien Gardens 

Rikugien is a kaiyu-style (circuit style) daimyo garden with manmade hills and ponds that reflect tastes and flavor of the world of Waka poetry, and it was constructed in 1702 by the load of Kawagoe domain, Yanagawa Yoshiyasu who was deeply trusted by the 5th shogun, Tokugawa Yoshiyasu. This delicate and genial garden provides viewing pleasure of changing sights strolling along the routes that surround the pond.

Rikugien main gate

This is a typical and representative daimyo garden of Edo period that remains, and it became the second residence of the founder of Mitsubishi, Iwasaki Yataro in the Meiji era. Later it was donated by the Iwasaki family to City of Tokyo in 1938. This garden is a valuable cultural heritage that was designated as the special places of scenic beauty of the country in 1953 as a special site of exceptional beauty.

The origin of garden name : 

The name "Rikugien" derives from the six classifications of Waka poetry, namely auxiliary poem, counting poem, comparing poem, example poem and celebration poem that was advocated in the preface of Kokinshu (a collection of ancient and recent poems of the day), following the six classifications of the Chinese poems. While the garden was called "Mukusa-no-sono" in Japanese way in "Rikugien-ki" edited by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu himself, it is now read as "Rikugien" with Chinese pronunciation.

Gishun-tei (residence)

Togetsu-kyo

A stone bridge that was named after a famous poem "Shadow of the moon moving at night and cry of crane in mash of reed in the shore of Waka, makes me feel so lonely".

Cha-ya (tea house)

powdered green tea and Japanese sweets

This park always gives an inspiration to me.