Kanden-an. Samurai Villa with Teahouse, Bathhouse, & Garden designed by a Warlord

 

Kanden-an was the country retreat for the Arisawa family, the chief  retainers of the Matsudaira who controlled Matsue Domain from the nearby castle.

Open to the public on weekends for part of the year, it is not on most tourists' radar, but is a National Historic Site, a National Scenic Site, and an Important Cultural Property.

Located a couple of kilometers from the castle, the way to the villa is along a footpath through the woods until you reach the original gate that would have been used by guests.

It is no longer in use and so visitors now follow the scenic main path up to the villa.

The land was given to the Arisawa by Matsudaira Naomasa, the first Matsudaira Lord of the Matsue Domain.

The 5th head of the Arisawa taught tea ceremony to Matsudaira Fumai when he was a child. Fumai became a great Tea Master and is why Matsue is one of the three main tea ceremony centres in Japan.

The 6th head of the Arisawa, Kazuyoshi, was taught tea ceremony by Fumai and was a great favourite of Fumai.

Meimei-an, another teahouse in Matsue worth visiting was built by Fumai for Kazuyoshi in the Arisawa main residence near the castle.

The teahouse, bathhouse, and garden here at Kanden-an are said to have been designed by Fumai.

Visitors now arrive first at the main villa, built in 1792. If you choose to have tea on your visit, this is where you will have it, looking out over the simple garden and down towards the castle.

The stonework of the paths are very striking, although the garden itself is simply rows of pruned bushes.

Many of the gardens in the Matsue and Izumo area were designed by Fumai's head garden designer, Sawa Gentan, and he is responsible for the Izumo Style Garden. However, it seems he was not involved here, and the garden was designed by Fumai.

Adjacent to the main house is the thatched teahouse, also built in 1792. Unfortunately, it cannot be entered.

From the teahouse, a path leads up to the bathhouse.

Originally, this is where the path for guests would arrive, and the bathhouse was a waiting area for guests before going to the teahouse.

Wating areas for guests to a tea ceremony are quite common, but I don't remember seeing a bathhouse before.

This is not the kind of bathhouse with a tub; rather, it is often called a sauna.

I went to one of these on a visit to Beppu, with a low entrance, dark inside, and a few centimeters of hot water. I was told that such types of bathhouse used to be fairly common.

From the bathhouse visitors head back down to the teahouse and then through a gate to the main villa, in much the same way as visitors would originally.

Though only a few kilometers from the castle, it is said that Fumai used to enjoy his time here.

Kanden-an is still owned by the Arisawa Family.

Other teahouses with gardens near Matsue Castle include the aforementioned Meimei-an, and also the Kangetsu-an

The previous post in this series on Matsue was on the exciting modern architecture of the Kunibiki Messe Conference Centre.

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The Hori Mansion & Gardens

 

The Hori Family Mansion is located in a narrow valley about 9 kilometers from Tsuwano Castle, and I have always presumed they were high-ranking vassals of that domain.

It turns out they are not connected to the domain at all, in fact the five villages around their property were an enclave directly ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate and administered from Omori, at Iwami Ginzan.

The Hori operated the copper and silver mines in the area. Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868 they started to buy up copper mines all over western Japan, and the 15th-generation family head Hori Reizo earned the nickname Chugoku Copper King.

It was he who built the sukiya-style, two storey guesthouse here called Rakusanso with its pond garden featured in this post.

It is a National Site of Scenic Beauty, and there are actually three gardens here.

There is a small, karesansui garden along the side of the mainhouse which is older than the big pond garden, but on this visit, I didn't photograph it.

Also, across the road, is another garden with multiple ponds called Warakuen, and I only took one photo of it, the final photo in this post.

The main house was built in 1785 and features a three tatami tearoom pictured in photos 3 and 4 above.

The two-storey Rakanso was built between 1897 and 1900

Viewing the garden from the second floor veranda is particularly nice.

The stroll garden features a couple of small bridges, and 17 stone lanterns plus a tall stone pagoda.

There is a small waterfall built into the hillside that borders the garden.

The koi in the pond, when I visited, were all of a golden-yellow breed.

The island in the pond is considered a Dejima, and not a turtle island or a crane island.

For this interested in traditional architecture, both the Edo-period main house and the Meiji-period Rakanso guest house are well worth exploring.

For those interested in gardens, the three gardens are also well worth a visit though I didn't photograph the older, karesansui garden of the main house, nor really explored the Warakuen garden across the road, and my photos of the Rakanso garden are really not all that good

It is quite difficult to reach the Hori residence and gardens without a car. There are only a couple of buses a day. It would be possible by rental cycle, of which there are many in Tsuwano. The upside is that it will not be crowded.

This visit was almost twenty years ago, and I will definitely be making a return visit as I have a deeper interest in the traditional architecture and gardens now.

I will be sure to visit in the late Autumn when the colours will make the gardens more beautiful and perhaps clearer.

The previous post in this series on the delights of Tsuwano was on the colour and pageantry of the Great Spring Festival at Taikodani Inari Shrine.

if you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the most recent posts.