Koishikawa-Kōrakuen Garden
Koisikawa Korakuen Garden is a unique Japanese garden located in the historic Koisikawa area. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that this garden has retained the design of the Chinese garden and all the elements of the Edo period. It has also been designated as a special place for admiring the beauty of Japan and is considered a historical place, which is included in the list of protected places of cultural heritage.
The design of Koisikawa Korakuen Park reflects strong Chinese influence, many of the ideas for its design at that time were new to Japan and were subsequently reproduced many times in other gardens. In particular, the principle of reconstructing famous landscapes in miniature was first used.
Many gardens in Japan are called « Korakuen », which means « pleasure garden ». In 1629, a vast territory was given to the side branch of the Tokugawa family, which ruled the province of Mito. Her founder Tokugawa Yorifus invited Master Tokudaiji Sae, and by 1634 the first phase of work had ended.
The abundance of water made it possible to create a huge pond and many small water bodies, streams and waterfalls that calmed vision and hearing and gave special painting to this park, many of the elements of which were new to Japan and then repeatedly reproduced in other gardens. The principle of recreating famous landscapes in miniature began to be widely used here, and therefore a walk in the park turned into a kind of journey through the most beautiful places of Japan and China: you could see the illustrious Fuji, the famous Kiyomizudera Temple in Kyoto, repeatedly baked by poets, the West Lake in China, in the midst of which the island of Khorai, planted with pine trees, was recreated. The garden owes some ideas to the Chinese Confucian scientist Xu Xunsui, whom Tokugawa Iemitsu, the second of the Mito rulers, invited to his service in 1665. Xu Xunsui, in addition to scientists, turned out to be a connoisseur of gardening art, which in many respects was obliged to his origin from the city of Suzhou, famous for his gardens to this day.
Koisikawa Korakuen Garden is completely transformed during tree flowering. In March, even the Umamatsuri, a national holiday, which was born as honoring the annual beauty of flowering plum, is even held here. At the end of May comes a series of sakura and azaliy. And autumn puts on the park in bloody momiji colors. In a word, whenever you come to the Koisikawa Korakuen garden, he will delight you with the beauty and tranquility of nature in a big city.
