Let's take a stroll around Yanaka-Sendagi!
Yanaka-Sendagi Course

Rikugi-en Gardens had been a suburban residence of YANAGISAWA Yoshiyasu, a Roju (member of shogun's council of elders) of fifth Shogun TOKUGAWA Tsunayoshi, built in 1702 on the estate granted by Tsunayoshi. Although Yoshiyasu was busy with official duties and could not leave Edo Castle, he was so enthusiastic about creating this garden and he made his followers bring design drawings for him and gave instructions.

Illustrated Plan of Rikugi-en Gardens, Previously owned by MIZUKI Family

The garden has paths around artificial hills and a pond. In such a garden, we can enjoy the view strolling the pass around the pond with a floating island.

Yoshiyasu had a profound knowledge of classical literature, and it was reflected in the design of Rikugi-en Gardens. The views in “Man’yo-shu” (the oldest existing collection of tanka poetry, compiled in the Nara period) or “Kokin-Waka-shu” (an early imperial anthology of the tanka poetry, dating from the Heian period) were selected to represent as Eighty-eight Views in Rinkugi-en Gardens.

Among Eighty-eight Views, these gardens were modeled after places of scenic beauty in Kishu Province (current Wakayama prefecture) appeared in tanka poems, so people enjoyed such beautiful and poetic views without leaving Edo city.

After Meiji Restoration, the garden became the property of IWASAKI Yataro. In 1938, the garden was donated to Tokyo City and opened to the public.

Rikugi-en Gardens

In this large garden, various flowers blooming from season to season gladden your eyes. Although the weeping cherry tree was newly planted in 1955, this tree became a main view in spring. There are many attractions such as azalea deeply associated with Komagome Somei village hydrangea and autumn tints.

FUJITA Yoshisaburo, a founder of the Toshima-en, built a two-story wooden house at the edge of the Hongo plateau in 1919. In 1923, it was sold to YASUDA Zenshiro, a director of the Hozen Bank and a son-inlaw of YASUDA Zenjiro I, whose house was devastated by the Great Kanto Earthquake. Later, his first-born son, YASUDA Kusuo, inherited the house and lived there until his death in 1995. After his death, the building and most of the site area were donated to the Japan National Trust for Cultural and Natural Conservation that work to utilize the building and open it to the public.

Sunroom seen from the dry garden

The site is extended to the east and west and meets at right angles to the cliff line of the Hongo plateau. The main entrance and parlor are located in the east wing, a guest room named the “Zangetsu-no-ma” in the main building, and a living space including a kitchen in the west wing. A guest room on the second floor of the main building is designed in the Shoin style and is the most formal of the rooms in the residence.

The garden is configured with four elements: a front garden located between the main gate and the entrance of the house; a main garden facing the solarium and the Zangetsu-no-ma; a courtyard that fronts the north side of the Zangetsu-no-ma, and an interior garden enclosed in the back yard, a Buddhist altar room and the west wing of the residence that were dismantled in 1997.

The main garden is designed in a dry-landscape style, and is intended to be viewed while sitting in the solarium, Zangetsu-no-ma, or the living room. Rocks symbolizing a waterfall are placed at the southwest corner of the garden as the highest point from which sand and gravel suggesting flowing water descend towards the east. Following the steppingstones from each room, one can stroll to the main garden where was once laid with lawn grass.

The rocks representing the waterfall are the main feature of the garden and are arranged with pointed natural stones called “Taki-soeishi”and straight stones called “Mizuochi-ishi.” The top of the waterfall is oriented to be best viewed from the Nekoma shoji of the living room rather than from the front of the building. By orienting the top of the waterfall facing the northwest, it also created a visual effect of making the flowing dry riverbed appear larger.

Main Garden seen from 'Zangetsu-no-ma'

With large sized revetment rocks on both sides, lines of sand suggesting stream of water flows around an ornamental stone placed in the center of the garden. A pagoda and a parallel arrangement of crosses stones are viewed across from the Zangetsu-no-ma is an important highlight. On the other hand, from the solarium, you can see this sand pool is designed as the ripping pond with the ornamental stone in the middle, and surrounded by hexagonal stone garden lanterns and oak trees planted by FUJITA Yoshisaburo. This garden allows 7 the visitor to enjoy differing views from each room.

This magnificent garden, using the geographical characteristics particular to the edge of the Hongo plateau, is a unique example to be found among the luxurious residences of the Yamanote area in Tokyo dating from the Taisho and early Showa periods that comes down to us today in nearly its original condition.

The garden path will be open to the public on Saturdays from late November to early December. For details, please contact the Japan National Trust.

Fromer entrance of Kanchoro

On January 1892, MORI Ogai moved to this place when he worked as a medical officer of Imperial Japanese Army, and established him as a writer by publishing books such as collection of translated poems “Omokage” (co-translated with KOGANEI Kimiko). His father Shizuo who closed his clinic, bought the house here to live with Ogai. Later, the site was extended and a second floor was added to the building. Ogai named this house “Kanchoro” because white sails of Shinagawa offing was in sight behind the trees of Hama-rikyu Gardens from the upper floor.

Kanchoro of 1056 square meters was connected with several rooms by complex corridors. The main gate faced Yabushita-dori Street, and at the top of Dango-zaka slope, there was the back gate which led on long stone pavement to back-entrance. This house seems to have been full of natural feeling with the garden that occupied half of the site and castanopsis planted on the west boundary.

Kanchoro had been the base of writing work of MORI Ogai. He edited the literary magazine “Mesamashi-gusa” which was first issued in1896, and meetings for jointly reviewing of “Sannin Jogo” with KODA Rohan and SAITO Ryokuu, and “Unchugo” with AEBA Koson, OZAKI Koyo and MORITA Shiken were held there. Moreover, Kanchoro poetry party had been held regularly from 1907 and many Waka poets such as YOSANO Tekkan, ITO Sachio, SASAKI Nobutsuna and SAITO Mokichi visited the residence.

Ginkgo tree in front of MORI Ogai Memorial Museum

After Ogai’s death in 1922, his family lived here for a while. The house was rented out afterwards, and in 1937 most part of main building was destroyed by fire. The remains such as a part of foundation stones of gatepost and stone pavement alongside the Yabushita-dori Street, large ginkgo tree planted at the entrance and a big stone where KODA Rohan, SAITO Ryokuu and Ogai seated for taking photo (Commonly known as “Stone of Sannin Jogo”), reminds us of the past days of the residence.

In 1949 the Preparatory Committee for Ogai Memorial Museum was started by TAKAHASHI Seiichiro (the first director of Tokyo National Museum) and Bunkyo City bought the site. In 1950 this site was landmarked as a Historic Site named “Site of MORI Ogai” based on “the survey for sites of modern cultured persons” conducted by Tokyo Metropolitan board of Education (it was designated for Historic Site after the revision of Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance for the Protection of Cultural Properties).

In 1962 Ogai Memorial Hongo Library was opened and in 2012 it was renovated and reopened as MORI Ogai Memorial Museum. We can remember MORI Ogai’s great achievement through his manuscripts, handwritten letters and belongings exhibited at the museum.

Rokkaku-do Hall

OKAKURA Tenshin established the research institute of Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Art Institute) on October 15, 1898 in this place named OKAKURA Tenshin Memorial Park today. The Nihon Bijutsuin was a society to produce a new style of Japanese painting under the leadership of Okakura Tenshin, and a group of artists followed Okakura’s idea and devoted themselves to seeking new methods of expression. HASHIMOTO Gaho, YOKOYAMA Taikan, HISHIDA Shunso and ROKKAKU Shisui participated in this society.

The buildings of research institution were constructed with the donation of benefactors such as William Sturgis BIGELOW, a collector of Japanese art. Two buildings of two-storied, tile-roofed wooden structure had stood face to face. In the north building, there were an office, a craft laboratory and a meeting room. The south building was for painting laboratory. Nine annex buildings were built on the premise as atelier and works of painting, sculpture, lacquer ware, design, caster were produced and studied.

When the research institution building was opened on October 15 in 1898, the group held a competitive exhibition together with the Japan Painting Association.

From opening, Nihon Bijutsuin energetically created new style of art works, held exhibitions and issued journal “Japanese Art”. However, activities of Nihon Bijutsuin gradually faced financial difficulties, and also suspended when OKAKURA Tenshin went to the United States to become the head of the Chinese and Japanese art division of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1905. When Nihon Bijutsuin sold off its site at 3000 yen and moved to Izura, Ibaraki prefecture in 1906, Nihon Bijutsuin at Yanaka ended.

Bust of OKAKURA Tenshin

The present OKAKURA Tenshin Memorial Park was opened by Taito City in 1967. Inside of the memorial hall which imitate the “Rokkaku-do” (lit. hexagonal hall) of Izura, the bust of OKAKURA Tenshin was enshrined. This bust was casted from the mold made by HIRAKUSHI Denchu in 1931 which is placed in the Tokyo University of the Arts.

This place has handed down the spirit of painters who grappled with the modernization of Japanese Art in the Meiji period.