| 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 [[daimyo yashiki|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]]. | | 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 [[daimyo yashiki|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". | + | The garden's design shows strong Chinese influences, including a pond meant to resemble the famous [[West Lake]] of [[Hangzhou]],<ref>[[Marius Jansen]], ''China in the Tokugawa World'', Harvard University Press (1992), 80.</ref> 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). | | 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). |