Tokugawa-en

April 2nd, 2013 - The Tokugawa Garden (徳川園 Tokugawa-en) is a Japanese garden in the city of Nagoya, Japan. In the early Edo period (1603-1867), Tokugawa Mitsumoto (1625-1700), second lord of the Owari branch of the Tokugawa clan, established a vast residence called the Ōzone Shimoyashiki. After his death, the property was passed on to the families of his three retainers Naruse, Ishiko and Watanabe, until the Meiji Restoration of 1867, when ownership was returned to the Owari Tokugawa.

In 1931, Tokugawa Yoshichika (1886-1976), 19th head of the Tokugawa family, decided that "the time had come to present the property to the community", and donated the land of 23,000m² and buildings to the City of Nagoya. Included in the donation were family treasures and the establishment of the Owari Tokugawa Reimeikai Foundation. The City opened the garden in 1932, and the foundation opened the art museum in 1935. The garden however was destroyed during World War II, leaving only the main gate intact. In 2004, aiming to unite many historical inheritances found in the region, the garden, a sanctuary of modern samurai culture representing Japan was built, along with a stroll-style pond to complete its atmosphere.

To the south of the garden, the Hōsa Library houses historical materials and documents connected with the Owari Tokugawa family.

Access by public transport is by Morishita Station by the Seto line or Ōzone Station by the Meijo(subway) line.

- Tokugawa Garden with Ryusenko (Ryusen Lake) in the middle

- The main Black Gate (Kuro-mon) that leads into the Ōzone Shimoyashiki where the garden is located

- Ōzone-no-taki (Ōzone Waterfall)

The main Black Gate (Kuro-mon) that leads into the Ōzone Shimoyashiki where the garden is located. KUROMON is a 5.4m wide wooden gate with a gable roof. It is a relic from the Owari Tokugawa family residence built in 1900(Year 33 of the Meiji period). Along with the continuing tenement house and the fences, it is one of the few remains that escaped the fires of massed air raids of 1945(Year 20 of the Showa period). It is a valuable structure which reflects typical architecture of old samurai residences.

The main Black Gate (Kuro-mon) that leads into the Ōzone Shimoyashiki where the garden is located

This place is known as "RYUMON NO TAKI", one of the types based on TORYUMON, a legend of a carp which leaped up a waterfall and became a dragon. The waterfall is reconstructed by using rocks of Owari's suburban residence in Edo. In 1669(Year 9 of the Kanbun period), Mitsutomo Tokugawa, the second generation domain lord, started construction of Owari's suburban residence(Toyama residence), which had the greatest garden of the day. In the garden, there was a RYUMON NO TAKI, framing the canyon named "MEIHOUKEI". The MEIHOUKEI had an elaborate device that caused the waterfall to swell when you crossed over all the steppingstones across the stream. All of the invited guests back in those days, generals(SHOGUN) and feudal lords(DAIMYO), were surprised and purred with pleasure. The Toyama residence was located in Toyama town, Shinjuku ward, Tokyo. Although there is nothing much left to remind you of the Toyama residence nowadays, a large-scale rock garden from the Edo period was found on a premises of Waseda University in 1998(Year 10 of the Heisei period). Upon excavation by Waseda University and education board of Shinjuku ward, it was confirmed that the rock garden was a remains of the RYUMON NO TAKI in the Toyama residence. The stones were a volcanic rock called IZUISHI, with total number of 360 pieces and gross weight of 250 tons. It is presumed that they are a remainder of the building stones from the Edo castle. In Tokugawaen, these stones are used for bank protection, the riverbed, and stepping stones. They revived the RYUMON NO TAKI of Toyama residence by adopting the device of the swollen stream.
The lovely cherry blossom in full bloom at Tokugawa-en A cherry blossom is the flower of the Japanese Sakura trees. "Hanami" is the centuries-old practice of having lunch and drinking sake in cheerful feasts under a blooming sakura or ume tree.

Ōzone-no-taki (Ōzone Waterfall), this is a three-tiered 6meter high waterfall and each tier has a different assembly of rocks, the spray shows various aspects. The mountain behind the waterfall is the highest mountain in the Tokugawa-en. The vertical drop to the RYUSENKO surface is approximately 11meters. "OZONE(the great mountain ridge)"is the geographic name of this place from ancient days.