Ako Castle Gardens

 

Ako Castle lies on the Inland Sea coast near the border of Hyogo and Okayama, and is famous as the home castle of the famous 47 Ronin.

While many castles would have a garden within the castle grounds for the enjoyment of the Lord and his reatiners and guests, Ako Castle is somewhat unusual in having two gardens.

The Honmaru Garden lies within the inner bailey of the castle, and the larger Ninomaru garden within the second bailey.

Both gardens were built at the same time as the new castle by Asano Nagano beginning in 1645.

The castle and the gardens were designed primarily by a retainer, Kondo Masazumi, with some input from his teacher the Confuciam scholar Yamaga Soko.

Once the High School and ist sports grounds were removed from the castle grounds in 1981 restoration of the grounds began.

These photos date from about 15 years ago and since then further restoration work on the gardens has been completed.

Both gardens are designated as National Scenic Spots.

They are both stroll type gardens, but the Ninomaru Garden was also used for boating.

The previous post was on Ako Castle.

Morijuku Art Museum Gardens

 

The Morijuku Art Museum is a small, private art museum in Tsuwano, the castle toen in the mountains of Shimane.

It is housed in a large, traditional house that was the residence of the village headman of the town in the Edo Period.

The exhibition is of  paintings by Tsuwano-born artists Nakao Akira and his wife Yoshiura Maya.

Theer are also some prints by the Spanish artist Goya.

However, for myself the art was not the main interest, as  the main part of the house is open to visitors and includes three distinct gardens that can be enjoyed.

The first is the front garden to the west of the house and through which you must pass to enter.

It is a dry garden with lots of raked sand and in all probability was created when the property was renovated.

The main garden is to the east and is visible from the tatami rooms of the main house.

Apparentlt this garden was originally quite a bit larger but some of the property was sold off many years ago.

The third garden is on the south side and includes a path from the front garden to the teahouse.

The teahouse is part of the main house and can also be entered from within the house.

It is suggested that this south garden shares many features with an Izumo-style garden.

With three distinct gardens, a large traditional house to explore, and also an art exhibit, the Morijuku Art Museum is well worth a visit.

especially when you consider it has free entry.

The previous post in this series on Tsuwano was on the fall colours at Washibara hachimangu Shrine

Just outside town is quite a famous garden at the Hori Estate which I will cover later. Also in the town is a delightful garden at the thatched  Yomeiji Temple.

Even though this was a July weekend with a major event, the Sagimai Dance, ,going on, the town was not at all crowded and I had the Morijuku gardens all to myself.

Shotoen Garden & Houses on Shimo Kamagari Island

 

Shotoen is an absolute delight. Four traditional buildings of different types connected by a raked sand and pine garden overlooking the sea.

Not only that, but each building houses a different museum.

Shotoen is located in Sannose, a small port on Shimokamagari Island in the Inland Sea not far from Kure, Hiroshima.

It is connected to the mainland by a bridge, and a further series of bridges connect to other islands in the chain and is a somewhat popular cycling route, but off the radar for most tourists.

During the Edo Period Sannose was a kaieki, the maritime equivalent of a post station, and home to honjin, guest houses for elite travellers.

Daimyos and their retinues heading up to Edo would stop here, as did the Dutch traders from Nagasaki, and the gifts left by the Dutch seem to have become the impetus for several of the museums.

One shows many examples of Imari Ware, Japan's first domestically produced porcelain. Produced in Arita but named after the port where it was shipped from, readers with an interest in Imari Ware can check my post on Arita which has a bunch of relevant links.

 

The most interesting museum, to my mind at least, was on the Korean diplomatic missions.

Emissaries, often with a large entourage, from Korea visited Japan many times during the Edo Period.

On 11 different occasions they stayed here on Sannose, and it was the obligation of the local Daimyo to entertain them.

The cost was so exorbitant that it is said that if any more Korean delegations had visited it would have bankrupted the domain.

The displays include a replica of the feasts offered and a scale model of the kind of ship used.

I am guessing the several Korean-style Buddhist  statues are also a reference to the Korean connection.

There is also an obligatory display of farming utensils, straw hats etc.

There is a joint entry ticket that also gives entry to several other museums and other tourist sites in Sannose.

I believe there are a few buses to and from  the mainland, but you need to walk, cycle, or drive...... which is why there are so few tourists....