Changes

*''Japanese'': 仙巖園 ''(Sengan'en)''

*''Japanese'': 仙巖園 ''(Sengan'en)''

Sengan'en is a formal garden in [[Kagoshima]], associated with the Iso Palace, a secondary villa (''bettei'') of the [[Shimazu clan]]. It is today a part of the [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]] complex.

Sengan'en is a formal garden in [[Kagoshima]], containing within it the Iso Palace, a secondary villa (''bettei'') of the [[Shimazu clan]]. It is today associated with the nearby [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]] complex.

The garden, along with the Iso Palace, were constructed in [[1658]], by [[Shimazu Mitsuhisa]]. The site was used for the personal leisure of the ''daimyô'', as well as for entertaining guests, including officials from [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]], and a watchtower said to have been a gift from the King of Ryûkyû still stands on the grounds. Notable elements within the garden include the pewter-roofed main gate, and a set of lanterns said to have been the first gaslamps in Japan. The garden uses the "borrowed scenery" technique to borrow [[Kinko Bay|Kinkô Bay]] and [[Sakurajima]] into its arrangement, with the intention of producing the illusion of the two being merely a small hill in a pond, just beyond the walls.

The garden, along with the Iso Palace, were constructed in [[1658]], by [[Shimazu Mitsuhisa]]. The site was used for the personal leisure of the ''daimyô'', as well as for entertaining guests, including officials from the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]], and a pavilion said to have been a gift from the King of Ryûkyû still stands on the grounds. Notable elements within the garden include the pewter-roofed main gate, and a set of lanterns said to have been the first gaslamps in Japan. The garden uses the "borrowed scenery" technique to borrow [[Kinko Bay|Kinkô Bay]] and [[Sakurajima]] into its arrangement, with the intention of producing the illusion of the two being merely a small hill in a pond, just beyond the walls.

 

The garden is also home to the oldest ''kyokusui'' garden in Japan,<ref>A style of garden designed to allow for imitation of the famous Orchid Pavilion Gathering organized by [[Wang Xizhi]] in [[353]], in which participants floated wine cups on a small stream within Wang's garden, and played a game of trying to compose a poem before the next cup passed them.</ref> and a variety of [[Bakumatsu period|Bakumatsu]]/[[Meiji period]] technological innovations, including a hydroelectric dam which powered not only the factories of the Shûseikan complex, but also electric lights within the Iso residence.

The Iso Palace became the chief Kagoshima residence of the Shimazu following the [[Meiji Restoration]]. Most of the compound was renovated in [[1884]], and about a third of it survives today.

The Iso Palace became the chief Kagoshima residence of the Shimazu following the [[Meiji Restoration]]. Most of the compound was renovated in [[1884]], and about a third of it survives today.