Kenroku-en Garden
Kenroku-en Garden is one of the parks of Kanazawa city in Japan. Translated from Japanese, the name sounds like "The Garden of Six Virtues." The park harmoniously combines lakes, streams, waterfalls, bridges, trees, which is why the park has become popular among tourists and residents of the city.
The history of Kenroku-en Park dates back to 1676, when Lord Maeda Tsunamori moved his administration to the fortress and decided to develop the surrounding land. But in 1759, the garden was destroyed by fire, and its restoration began only in 1774. A pavilion for tea ceremonies and an Emerald Waterfall were added to the old garden. As the years passed, the lords replaced each other and each added something different: streams, ponds. In 1874, the park was opened to all visitors.
Kenroku-en is one of the three most famous parks in Japan: Kairaku-en and Koraku-en. The park is based on 6 elements: spaciousness, solitude, conventionality, panorama, antiquity, water. In addition, the garden was planned so that all the elements should be grouped in pairs. This is the secret of the classic park. Kenrokuen Park embodies the best traditions of Japanese gardening art. The greatest achievements of gardeners include: embankments, reservoirs, streams, winding like snakes, buildings.
In 1863, the 13th lord of the Maeda dynasty built a two-story Seisongkaku house for his mother in the northern part of Kenroku-en Park. Today there is a museum here, which displays the things of the Maeda dynasty: manuscripts, engravings, old kimonos. Nearby there is a well known throughout the city. There is a legend that in ancient times a Togoro peasant was washing potatoes here and noticed golden sand. Hence the name of the city of Kanazawa, which translates as "Golden Swamp". Near the entrance to the park you can see the ruins of the castle, which burned down in 1759. All that remains of it are the gates and the arsenal building. Today, the castle grounds belong to Kanazawa University.
It's like a Kabuki actor surprises his visitors with a new outfit every season. In winter, there are lush snow robes, in spring, sakura and plum trees show all the beauty of the Kenroku-en garden, in summer, azaleas bloom, surrounded by greenery, and in autumn, golden maples and cranberries are beautiful. Stone lanterns, bridges, houses for tea ceremonies, and Kotoji lanterns perfectly fit into the landscape.
