Koishikawa Korakuen

• Built: 1629, c. 1669
• Other Names: 小石川後楽園 (koishikawa kourakuen)
• Japanese: 後楽園 (kourakuen)

Kôrakuen is a Japanese garden in Tokyo, originally founded by Tokugawa Yorifusa, daimyô of Mito han, as a private garden within the grounds of his Edo mansion. Construction began in 1629, but the garden was lost to a fire. It was completed by Yorifusa's son and successor, Tokugawa Mitsukuni, around 1669.

The garden's design shows strong Chinese influences, and its name, meaning roughly "Garden of Later Pleasures", was chosen at the suggestion of Zhu Shunsui, a Chinese retainer of Mito, based on a proverb or famous quotation, "work first, pleasure later".

It is one of only seven places in Japan to be designated both a Special Designated Place of Historic Interest (特別史跡) and Special Designated Place of Scenic Beauty (特別名勝).

References

• "Kôrakuen." Digital Daijisen. Shogakukan, Inc.