Genkyuen Garden

Facing the inner moat on the north side of Hikone Castle, Genkyu-en is a large area of a garden known as a kaiyu-style garden.

The castle tower and thick trees form the backdrop of the garden, which also includes Rinchikaku (a small building that juts out into a large pond) and Hoshodai (a small building on a hill). Hoshodai was a guest house for the Hikone clan’s guests, and has an old-fashioned atmosphere.

In the garden, trees, rocks, and ponds are skillfully arranged to reproduce the eight views of Soshon from Dongting Lake in Hunan Province, China, as well as Chikubu Island and Offshore Shiraishi from the Eight Views of Omi.

From Genkyu-en Garden, the castle tower of Hikone Castle can be seen, and in early summer, lotus and iris flowers in the pond bloom and the fragrance of flowers envelops the garden. In early summer, lotus and iris blossoms on the pond bloom, and the fragrance of the flowers envelopes the garden. Visitors can enjoy the various colors of the cherry blossoms in spring and the autumn leaves in fall (mid-November to early December).

Matcha (powdered green tea) can be enjoyed at Hoshodai, and various events are also held here. At Genkyu-en, events such as “Hear the Sound of Insects” and “Nishiki Autumn Genkyu-en Light-up” are held, attracting many visitors from far and wide.

Together with Rakurakuen Garden, Genguen is designated as a national place of scenic beauty, and in 2015 was recognized as a Japan Heritage site.

Genkyu-en (Genkyu-en Garden)

It was called “Tsukino-oniwa” in the Edo period (1603-1867). The adjacent Rakurakuen Garden, called Tsuki no Goten, was begun in 1677 by Ii Naoki, the fourth lord of the Hikone domain, and completed in 1679.

In 1813, it was restored to its present appearance as the retirement residence of Ii Naonaka, the 11th feudal lord of the Hikone domain.

In 1951, it was designated a national place of scenic beauty. Today, the garden portion is called Genkyu-en and the palace portion is called Rakuraku-en.

The name Genkyu-en is thought to derive from the name of an ancient Chinese court. There is a theory that the garden was created by incorporating the “Hakkei-tei,” a sukiya-style building located in the garden, and the eight views of Soshon and Omi in China, but the name “Hakkei-tei” is not recorded in the Edo period “Map of Genkyuen,” and the garden was called “Rinchikaku” instead.

In addition, the map of Xuangu Garden shows ten scenic views: “Hoshodai,” “Uyoyukinuma,” “Longgyo Bridge,” “Crane Sound Beach,” “Chunpu Insen,” “Ganwolbong,” “Sattva Forest,” “Feiliang Creek,” and “Hanhui Pavilion,” confirming that they were called the “Ten Scenic Views of Xuangu Garden” at that time.

Genkyuen is a circular garden centering on a vast, intricate pond with nine bridges, each with four islands or inlets within the pond.

The water in the pond was led from the outer moat, which is rich in spring water, and waterfalls flowed from between the rocks on the islets. There was also a boathouse, which visitors enjoyed by boat.

There was a water gate on the north side of the garden, which was used for visits to Benzaiten Hall in Oodora, Seiryo-ji Temple and Ryutanji Temple, and for visits to the Gohama Goten.

Rakurakuen Garden

Rakurakuen was built by Ii Naoki, the fourth lord of the Hikone domain, as the Ninomaru Palace of the Hikone domain. It used to be called Tsuki Goten. Today, the building part is distinguished as Rakuraku-en and the garden part as Genkyu-en.

The location of Tsuki Goten was a reclaimed land on the shore of a vast lake. In the early Edo period (1603-1867), it is said that the residence of Kawate Chusui, a chief vassal, was located there. When the palace and garden were developed, a large-scale expansion was carried out, and the area of the site greatly exceeded that of Omote Goten (now Hikone Castle Museum), the domain office.

After the death of Ii Naoki, the buildings of Rakurakuen tended to be reduced in size due to thrift ordinances and other factors, but when Ii Naonaka, the 11th lord of the domain, retired in 1813, large-scale additions and renovations were made, and soon after, Rakurakuen expanded to its largest scale.

At that time, Rakurakuen was approximately 10 times the size of the present building. The “Goshoin” that remains today was newly built at that time, and a new “garden” was constructed in front of the Goshoin. The present garden is a karesansui (dry landscape garden), but old illustrations show that it is filled with water.

Behind the Goshoin is a ravine-like landscape that leads to the “Earthquake Room” and the “Rakuraku Room. The Earthquake Room was an earthquake-proof building, and although its name is still used today, at that time it was a “tea-ceremony room” used for the tea ceremony.

The Rakuraku-no-Ma was likewise a sukiya-style building, and was extended at the rear of the Earthquake Room by the 12th feudal lord, Ii Naoaki. This building is also the origin of the name “Rakurakuen,” and has recently been attracting attention as a tea room for sencha green tea.