Mirei Shigemori Garden Museum（重森三玲邸）
A bold fusion of modern garden design and Edo-period tradition in the heart of Kyoto Hidden in Kyoto’s quiet Sakyo Ward, the Mirei Shigemori Garden Museum offers a unique blend of tradition and innovation. The house itself is a machiya—a wooden townhouse built in 1789, during the late Edo period. In 1943, Mirei Shigemori, one […]
Sankei-en（三溪園）
A Modern Garden Preserving Japan’s Architectural Heritage Sankei-en is a spacious traditional Japanese landscape garden located in Yokohama. Though one of Japan’s youngest gardens, it reflects centuries of history through its carefully transplanted buildings and timeless design. The garden was created by Sankei Hara, a wealthy silk merchant, who began construction in 1902 and opened […]
Komyo-in (Tofuku-ji)（光明院）
A Hidden Zen Gem with Shigemori’s Masterpiece Garden Kōmyō-in, a peaceful sub-temple of Tōfuku-ji in Kyoto, was founded in 1391 during the Muromachi period by Kinzan Myōshō, a respected Rinzai Zen monk. Although some temple buildings were destroyed during the anti-Buddhist movement in the Meiji era, the temple was restored by 1911. In 1939, the […]
Shinjuku Gyoen（新宿御苑）
A Garden Retreat in the Heart of Tokyo Shinjuku Gyoen is one of Tokyo’s largest and most diverse parks, featuring one of the city’s most beautiful Japanese gardens. Located just steps away from Shinjuku Station, this vast landscape blends tradition and modernity with ease. It includes a Japanese garden, a formal French garden, and an […]
Adachi Museum of Art (足立美術館)
Where Japanese Gardens and Art Meet Adachi Museum of Art in Shimane Prefecture was founded in 1980 by Adachi Zenko, a local textile wholesaler with a deep passion for Japanese paintings and gardens. At the age of 71, he established the museum to share his art collection and his love for gardens with the public. […]
Koishikawa Korakuen（小石川後楽園）
Edo-Period Garden Tranquility in the Heart of Tokyo Koishikawa Kōrakuen（小石川後楽園）is one of Tokyo’s oldest surviving gardens, a beautifully preserved example of an Edo-period strolling garden. Begun in 1629 by Tokugawa Yorifusa, the son of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, it was completed in 1669 by his son Tokugawa Mitsukuni, with the guidance of the Chinese Confucian scholar […]
Hamarikyu Teien（浜離宮恩賜庭園）
A Strolling Garden by Tokyo Bay with Shogunal History Hamarikyū Teien is a spacious Edo-period strolling garden located along Tokyo Bay. Originally designed by the Tokugawa shogunate, the garden reflects the power and refinement of the era. Its tidal ponds are unique—connected to the bay, the water levels rise and fall with the tide, creating […]
Rikugien（六義園 ）
A Classical Edo-Period Garden Rooted in Poetry Rikugien（六義園）is one of Tokyo’s most elegant and refined Edo-period strolling gardens, located in the quiet neighborhood of Komagome in Bunkyo ward. Built between 1695 and 1702 by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu—a samurai official under shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi—the garden was inspired by classical Waka poetry and originally featured 88 miniature scenes […]
Zuiho-in (Daitoku-ji)（瑞峯院）
A Zen Garden Rooted in Christian History Zuihō-in, part of the Daitoku-ji temple complex in Kyoto, stands out not only for its striking gardens but also for its unusual origins. It was founded in 1546 by Ōtomo Sōrin, a powerful Christian daimyo, as his family temple. Remarkably, Zuihō-in still preserves its original architecture, having survived […]
Obai-in (Daitoku-ji)（黄梅院）
Daitoku-ji’s Hidden Gem of Moss, Stone, and Autumn Beauty Ōbai-in（黄梅院）is a rarely accessible sub-temple of Daitoku-ji in Kyoto, renowned for its exquisite moss-covered garden—considered one of Japan’s finest. Open only for a few weeks in November, the temple reveals its full charm during the autumn foliage season. Founded in 1562 as Ōbai-an, the temple is […]