Rikugien Garden

About this place

Rikugien is located in a quiet residential area of northern Tokyo. During the 17th to 19th centuries, feudal lords staying in Edo built their residences in this area. Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, one of the most influential of feudal lords, designed this garden which was completed after seven years in 1695. There are 88 spots in the garden named after famous places in Japan and China and incidents from Chinese history, as well as references to waka, a traditional Japanese poetic form. Paths are mostly flat and easy to walk on, making them ideal for a gentle stroll, with an artificial mountain pass commanding a view of the entire garden. Built around 1700 for the 5th Tokugawa Shogun, Rikugien literally means six poems garden and reproduces in miniature 88 scenes from famous poems. The garden is a good example of an Edo Period strolling garden and features a large central pond surrounded by manmade hills and forested areas, all connected by a network of trails.