garden, architecture, art

HAMARIKYU riverside

A typical daimyo garden in the Edo period that has a tide pond and two duck fields. The Shioiri pond is a style that is usually used in seaside gardens, as it guides seawater and changes the taste of the pond by the ebb and flow of the tide. Former Shiba Rikyu Gardens, Kiyosumi Gardens, and Former Yasuda Gardens were also ponds of Shioiri. However, this is the only place where seawater is actually coming and going. In 1948, it was designated as a national scenic spot and historic site, and in 2015 it was designated as a national special scenic spot and special historic site, including the surrounding scenery.It is only “Hama Rikyu Gardens” and “Koishikawa Korakuen” in Tokyo that have been designated as special scenic spots and special historic sites. In Japan, there are Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, Daigoji Sanpoin (Kyoto), Heijokyo Sakyo Sanjo Ni There are a total of 9 places, including the ruins of Bogu (Nara prefecture), Itsukushima (Hiroshima prefecture), Motsuji garden (Iwate prefecture), and Ichijodani Asakura garden (Fukui prefecture). This area was a frontal hawk hunting ground for the shogun’s family until the Kanei era (1624-1644), and was one side of Ashihara. The first mansion to be built here was Tsuneshige Matsudaira, the younger brother of the Fourth Shogun Kazuna and the Prime Minister of Kofu. In the 3rd year of acceptance (1654), Tsunage received the permission from the shogun to reclaim the sea and build a villa called Kofuhama Yashiki. After that, when Tsunafumi (Ieyen), a child of Tsunashige, became the sixth shogun, this mansion became a villa of the shogun’s family and was renamed Hama Goten. After that, due to the Great Kanto Earthquake and war, valuable structures such as Ochaya were burned down and trees were damaged, and the appearance of the past disappeared, but it was given to Tokyo on November 3, 1945. After being maintained, it was released in April 1946.

Tide pool

The only seawater pond in Tokyo in the garden that has been around since the Edo period. The sluices are opened and closed according to the water level above and below Tokyo Bay to control the flow of water in the pond. In the pond, saltwater fish such as mullet, seigo, goby, and eel live. Rocks and stones arranged around the pond are home to crabs such as red crab and barnacles. In winter, migratory birds such as tufted ducks also come.

Mount Fujimi

Mt. Fujimi with a beautiful view of the garden

Otsutaebashi and Nakajima’s teahouse

A guiding bridge that connects Nakajima with the shore of the tide pond. Nakajima has the “Nakajima Ochaya”, and the view of the bridge and the Ochaya reflected on the surface of the water is very tasteful. It was built in 1707 by Tokugawa Isenori, a 6th generation general, and the view from the room is also wonderful. In the past, it seems that it was used for evening coolness and moon viewing with a view of Boso beyond the sea. The current Ochaya is rebuilt in 1983 and you can enjoy Matcha. Unlike a teahouse, a teahouse is a building that was built as a place for generals to entertain and rest. The 118-meter “Otashi Bridge” is made of total cypress.

Pine teahouse,

In addition to spending time with the guests at the “Ochaya” while enjoying meals and observing the furnishings, successive shoguns also used it as a resting place for falconry.The Matsu no Chaya was built during the reign of the 11th shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu (1787-1837) and was destroyed by air raids at the end of the war. However, since the foundation stones and burial stones remain, there are abundant historical materials such as Edo period picture drawings and repair records of the Miyauchi province after the Meiji era. I was able to restore it first in the teahouse. The pine teahouse is made of Sukiya style Shoin, the roof is covered with shingles, the inside is covered with a wall, and the outside is covered with a clapboard. The building is made from Japanese cedar, Yakushima cedar, and Kirishima cedar, which are hard to find nowadays.

Tsubame no Chaya

It is said that the name of “Tsubame” in “Tsubame no Ochajaya”, which was restored in 2015, was derived from the shape of the nail-concealing metal fittings being the shape of a swallow or a swallow flower. At that time, it was said that he decorated the paintings of the Nanso painter, Renmei, and welcomed customers with sweets and side dishes. The building is made by Sukiya-style Shoin.

Hawk teahouse

It was restored in 2018 at a teahouse that was used as a resting place for the shogun to falcon. It is a straw thatched teahouse that was built so that you can go in and out of it while falconry. There is a tatami mat floor for the generals to take a rest and warm. There is also a “hawk room” where you can rest the “hawks” you took to hunt.

Mount Gotei


There are two places, Koshindo Kamoba and Shinsenza Kamoba. The old one was built in 1778 and the latter was built in 1791. In Kamoba, a pond and a forest were surrounded by a 3m bank, and evergreen trees and bamboo bamboo were planted around the bank to shut off the duck so that it could rest comfortably. Here, a few moats (thin moats) are set up in the pond, and while watching the state of the duck from the small peep, attract the ducks with bait and bait ducks, and look at the machine to see the shadow of the bank. Therefore, in the Edo period, hawks were used, and in the villa period, scooping was carried out with the Sadenami.

Kuchiyama of Shinoke

Shogun Oagariba is the dock where the shogun boarded and dropped off when the shogun dropped in from Okawa (Sumidagawa) to Hama Goten during the Edo period. It is said that Tokugawa Keiki, who became the last shogun on January 12, 1868, entered Edo on the warship Kaiyo Maru from Osaka, landed from this climbing place, and returned to Edo Castle by horse.

It is not clear when the old Ina Shrine was built, but it is known that the Inari shrine was traditionally enshrined in the garden because the Inari shrine is drawn to the west of the current location in the pictorial drawings of the late Edo period. It has been. The current building collapsed due to the earthquake that had its epicenter in Tokyo Bay on June 20, 1894, when the predecessor shrine was destroyed. It was rebuilt in the form. The palace enshrined inside is presumed to be from the late Edo period, due to its architectural techniques.

In the flower garden, “Nanohana” in spring and “Kibana Cosmos” and “Cosmos” bloom beautifully from summer to autumn.

There is Uchibori in the garden. The image of “Hama Rikyu Gardens” is now strongly regarded as a garden, but in the Edo period it had various functions other than a garden. It could be a dock, a storehouse for famine, a unloading ground for supplies needed in Edo Castle, a naval base, or a pharmacy.

The 300-year-old pine is a black pine that is said to have been planted in honor of the great achievements of the sixth Shogun Ieyasu when he renovated the garden. The thick branches project low, boasting an imposing appearance.

here are two entrances to the “Hama Rikyu Garden” from the “Otemon Gate” and the “Nakanomon Gate”. Ishigaki used to protect Edo Castle during the days of the Daimyo Garden.

Water bus depot and water bus floating in Tokyo Bay

Auther：Mamiko Kusano

CREAZIONE Co.Ltd. Director
From Tokyo
2006 Established CREAZIONE Co. Ltd. I mainly work on branding, digital branding, space design, and furniture design.