Nabeshima Mansion Garden

 

The Nabeshima mansion was a high-ranking samurais residence and administrative outpost of the Nabeshima Clan who ruled what is now Saga during the Edo Period.

The mansion and surrounding district of samurai residences is located on the north side of the Shimbara Peninsula in Nagasaki.

The Nabeshima house and surrounding samurai district is a historical preservation district, though the Nabeshima mansion is the only property open to the public

When the mansion was built in the late 17th century it had a pond-type garden, but in the early 20th century the garden was renovated and the pond was removed and the garden turned into a dry, karesansui, stroll-type garden.

The steep slope is landscaped in quite, for my untrained eye, an unusual way.

The stepping stones also seem to be larger than usual....

I visited in mid-February so plums were in blossom, including a fine weeping plum shown in the first photo. I imagine that later when the azaleas are blooming would also be a good time to view the garden.

A path does lead up to the high ground where you can look down on the garden, mansion, and surrounding area and on clear days as far as Mount Unzen.

Remnants of the pond can still be seen.

The previous post in the series was on the Nabeshima Mansion itself and includes photos of the gardens in front of the property.

Chikurin-in Temple Gunpoen Garden

 

The Gunpoen Garden at Chikurin-in Temple in Yoshino is, along with one of the gardens at Taimadera and the one at Jikoin, classed as one of the Three Great Gardens of Yamato, and while having an intriguing history is hardly known at all.

Yoshino, in the mountains of southern Nara, is and was a centre of Shugendo, the mountain-worshipping cult, but is now most famous for its cherry blossoms, although the Shugendo sites are part of a World Heritage Site.

The small temple of Chikurin-in is now somewhat overshadowed by its lodgings facility, technically a Shukubo, but in essence a ryokan.

Historically the temple was a lodging for Shugendo pilgrims, and it is said many very famous guests have stayed here, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Emperor Hirohito.

The temple claims to have been founded by Prince Shotoku which would mean late 6th or early 7th century and it was called  Chinzan Dera. A couple of centuries later Kukai visited and changed its name to Josen-ji.

In 1385 it was renamed Chikurin-in, and in the late 16th century was moved to its current location.

The garden, a stroll-type with a large pond, is said to have been originally designed by Sen no Rikyu, probably the most famous tea master of all, although one of his most important students, the renowned general Yusai Hosokawa, is thought to have done further work on the garden.

What is often mentioned in reference to the garden here is that several cherry trees play a prominent part in the design and that this is quite rare in standard Japanese garden design. When I visited in November, the cherry trees were bare but a few maples were in full colour.

A path leads up to high ground above the garden where there is an archery ground and great views over the Yoshino mountains, the grand Kinpusenji Temple, and the rest of the  town.

The temple was closed down in 1874 with the shiunbutsu bunri edicts but re-opened later as a Tendai sect temple. In 1948 it became a Shingon temple.

Chikurin-in is situated at roughly the boundary between the Naka Senbon area and the Kami Senbon area.

I'm sure that when the cherries are blossoming in the late Spring then the garden is delightful, but a glorious Autumn day was just fine for me. I was the only person in the garden.

Meimei-an Teahouse Gardens

 

A Teahouse Garden, called roji or chatei, differs from the other two main types of Japanese garden, the karesansui, dry garden, often called zen garden, and the chisen-teien, or pond garden, and of course shares some features with them.

The Teahouse is meant to represent a rustic mountain hut, and the roji is what is passed through to reach the teahouse and therefore is the first part of the tea ceremony itself.

These photos are from Meimei-an, a  traditional teahouse in Matsue associated with the great Tea Master Fumai Matsudaira.

A fundamental feature of the roji will be the stones that make up the path to the teahouse. Tobiishi are stepping stones, and Nobedan, sometimes called tatami-ishi, are paving stones.

The path will pass by a Tsukubai, a washbasin where the visitor will purify themselves. Usually there will be a lantern behind the tsukubai.

All of the different stones arranged around the tsukubai have different names and functions.

These last two photos are of the garden of the Akayama Tea Ceremony Hall, open to the public where visitors can enjoy a cup of matcha with traditional sweets while enjoying the view of the Meimei-an Teahouse

The previous post has photos and more details about the Meimei-an Teahouse.

Kajimura Residence Tsuyama

 

The former Kajimura Residence in the Joto Historic District along the Izumo Kaido in Tsuyama is now known as Joto Mukashi Machiya which basically means "Joto Old Townhouse".

It is open to the public for free as a kind of local history museum.

The original structure dates back to the Edo Period but some of the other buildings were built in subsequent times up to the 20th century.

The storehouses have been turned into museums with typical glass cases displaying historic artifacts.

The garden is quite large and includes two teahouses, one of which can be looked into.

The wealthy merchant family who lived here operated a kind of bank. According to the class system, samurai were at the top, and merchants were at the bottom, below farmers and artisans.

However, as the Edo Period progressed many samurai became poorer and poorer and merchants became wealthy, and in return for financially supporting the samurai were given marks of status reserved technically only for the samurai.

The garden is also recognized nationally, and combined with the teahouse makes this traditional property well worth a visit.

The previous post in this series on Tsuyama while walking the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was  the Joto Preservation District.

Makino Botanical Garden Kochi

 

Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden is located on top of a mountain, Godaisan, to the south of central Kochi City on Shikoku.

It is named after Tomitaro Makino ( 1862-1957 ), a local man who went on to become kniwn as the "Father of Japanese Botany".

It is not the easiest of places to visit, but for pilgrims who are walking the Shikoku pilgrimage, Ohenro, the route passes through part of the gardens on the way to Chikurinji Temple, the 31st pilgrimage temple which is adjacent. In fact, part of the garden used to be temple property.

The garden covers 6 hectares and contains more than 3,000 species of plants from local to exotic.

As well as a large conservatory there is a Makino Memorial Hall with exhibits on Makino and his work and also a restaurant and cafe. Ther are great views over the surrounding coutryside also.

The previous post in this series on walking the Ohenro was the Museum of Art Kochi.