- Built: c. 1699-1706, Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu
- Japanese: 六義園 (Rikugien)
The Rikugien, or Six Virtues Gardens, in Tokyo's Bunkyô-ku, was one of the first publicly accessible municipal gardens or parks in Japan. Built around 1699 to 1706 by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu in Edo, it is still extant and open to the public today.
The garden covers roughly 25 acres (10 ha), and includes an artificial lake and small hills arranged in the style of a private aristocratic or samurai garden, though on a larger scale. Open to the public, it became a popular place for townspeople of Edo to gather for seasonal celebrations such as hanami (appreciating cherry blossoms in spring), and momijigari (admiring the leaves changing color in fall), as well as other occasions. Courtesans also came to frequently display themselves in the gardens.
In the process of the Meiji Restoration, the garden fell into considerable disrepair. It was restored in 1878 by Iwasaki Yatarô, founder of Mitsubishi. His younger brother and successor Iwasaki Yanosuke and eldest son Iwasaki Hisaya continued the restoration of the gardens after Yatarô's death, donating it to the city of Tokyo in 1938.[1]
References
- Penelope Mason. History of Japanese Art. Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. p275.