Dokurakuan Tea House & Sankan Sanro Roji Gardens

 

The Izumo Cultural Heritage Museum is a must-visit site for those interested in Japanese gardens.

As well as a fine example of an Izumo-style karesansui garden attached to a huge mansion, which I covered yesterday, it also has examples of roji, the small gardens associated with tea houses and the tea ceremony.

The Dokurakuan is a replica of a teahouse designed by Sen no Rikyu, probably the most famous of all tea masters.

It was originally built in Uji, near Kyoto, but passed through many owners until ending in the hands of Matsudaira Fumai, the daimyo of Matsue domain who was a famous tea master in his own right. 

He retired early and passed the domain on to his son so he could retire to his estate in Edo where he built a huge garden with many teahouses including the Dokurakuan.

A teahouse is usually approached through a type of garden called roji.

here at the Izumo Cultural Heritage Museum  the replica Dokurakuan is reached through three gardens called Sankan Sanro.

Called Outer, Middle, and Inner, the three gardens are quite distinct and separated by walls and gates.

It is said the Sankan Sanro was designed by Fumai himself.

The teahouse and gardens were recreated using old drawings and paintings of the original.

As well as the mansion with its Izumo-style garden, and the Dokurakuan and Sankan Sanro, there is yet another garden here. A modern teahouse where visitors can enjoy tea and sweets has its own garden, but I have no photos as I didn't visit.

The museum and gardens are free to visit, though there may be some entry fees to special temporary exhibitions that are in the big galleries.

The previous post was on the Izumo mansion and Garden. Not far away are a couple of other traditional properties with nice gardens, the Hirata Honjin, and the Yakumo Honjin.

Izumo Mansion & Izumo-style Garden

 

The Izumo Mansion was formerly the residence of the Ezumi family, a wealthy farming family of the Izumo region.

Their main house was dismantled and reassembled within the grounds of what is now the Izumo Cultural Heritage Museum, located between downtown Izumo and the Izumo Taisha area.

As well as moving the substantial house, they also moved the very large garden.

The Nagayamon, gatehouse, was also relocated and serves as the entrance to the museum compound.

The garden is very large and is  a dry garden with large areas of white gravel.

It can be viewed from the southern, shoin, room of the mansion.

It was a stroll-type garden, but unfortunately cannot be entered, only viewed from the house.

It is planted mostly with evergreen shrubs and trees, including a lot of black pine.

The arrangement of stepping stones is in the Izumo-style.

The house was originally built in 1896, and all the rooms can be explored.

Next door is a restaurant that offers a different view of the garden.

The Izumo Cultural Heritage Museum has exhibits on Izumo crafts and offers workshops. Two large, modern galleries show interesting temporary exhibits that require an entrance fee. I saw a fantastic exhibition of yokai prints and paintings here. The mansion and gardens are free to enter.

For garden enthusiasts there is an extra bonus here, a replica of a teahouse by Sen no Rikyu once owned by the famed Matsue tea master Fumai, with a series of gardens including one designed by Fumai himself. I will post pictures of that next.

The previous post in this series exploring the delights of Izumo and Matsue was on Jozan Inari Shrine.

Dragon Guardians of Yakumo Shrine

Japan Guide

Rather than Komainu, Lion-Dogs, Yakumo Shrine in downtown Izumo City is guarded by a pair of what appear to be dragons.

Yakumo Shrine is a branch of Susa Shrine, dedicated to Susano and with many branches across Japan. This one was established in the Meiji period and is locaed between the main train station and city hall.

The shrine did have standard komainu guardian statues, but they were replaced quite recently with the current ones. Though appearing to be dragons, the sword held in the tail of one suggests they're meant to be Orochi, the 8-headed serpent of Susano fame...

To fill out this post here are some more shots from the area around the shrine....

Gardens at Yakumo Honjin

Yakumo Honjin 八雲本陣

The Yakumo Honjin is a former wealthy merchant's house from the Edo Period located on the south shore of Lake Shinji about halfway between Izumo and Matsue.

The title "honjin" indicates that it was used as a guesthouse by the local lord as he traveled around his domain.

I have previously posted on the house itself, and the artifacts and artworks on display.

I had expected the gardens to be more interesting than they turned out to be, though that may be because it was in the winter and the sun was low and cast big shadows,

Like other Izumo gardens I've visited, there seemed to be a big emphasis on the stones laid out as paths.

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure if visited at the right time of day and year the gardens would be more impressive.

On the other side of the lake there is another honjin in Hirata, and it's garden is much better tended to.

Buy Japanese Taketombo

Yakumo Honjin

Yakumo Honjin

Yakumo Honjin is the name given to this large, traditional residence located in settlement Shinji, located about halfway between Matsue City and Izumo City on the southern shore of Lake Shinji.

It was formerly the residence of the wealthy Kowata Family who had been here since the early 16th century and were major landowners and also involved in commercial activities.

Located on the San-in-do, the major highway that ran through the region, the residence was used as a honjin, a place where lords and high-ranking officials could spend the night while traveling. Another honjin was in Hirata on the north side of the lake.

The main building dates back to 1733, however, the property is now huge as several other Edo Period buildings that belonged to high-ranking vassals of the lord in Matsue have been reassembled here.

One room has been left as it was when the Crown Prince stopped here for lunch while toring in the Taisho Period. The carpet, table, decirations etc are original.

On display throught the property are artworks and artifacts, some of which I will post later. The property also has a fine Izumo-style garden which I will also post later.

Koinobori & Children's Day in Japan