Higo-Hosokawa Garden - 肥後細川庭園 Japanese Gardens in Tokyo

A Verdant Japanese Garden in Tokyo

Higo-Hosokawa Garden is a beautiful old Japanese garden from the Higo Hosokawa family with a beautiful pond many trees and open space.

Information on Higo-Hosokawa Garden

Address:

1-1-22 Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku
Contact:

03-3941-2010
Open hours:

Feb. – Oct. 9am – 5pm (entry until 4:30pm)< /br>Nov. – Jan. 9am – 4:30pm (entry until 4pm)
Closed:

Dec. 28 – Jan. 4)
Entrance fee:

Free of charge

Flower Calendar of Higo-Hosokawa Garden

Spring : Japanese apricot, Cherry blossom, Higo camellia, Higo Chinese peony
Summer : Higo iris, Linden, Southern magnolia, Magnolia obovata
Autumn : Higo sasanqua, Maple, Japanese wax tree
Winter : Pine trees with Yukitsuri (supporting ropes tied to trees to protect from the snow)

Table of Contents

1. Background and History of Higo-Hosokawa Garden
2. Features and Sights to See
2.1 The garden that proclaims the legacy of the Hosokawa clan, the Higo-Kumamoto domain lords
2.2 The six unique and secret Higo flowers
2.3 Sense the charm o the Taisho period through the Shouseikaku

Background and History of Higo-Hosokawa Garden

This property was used as a second residence by Hosokawa Etchuu no Kami, a feudal lord from Higo-Kumamoto whose yearly income was about 540,000 koku (one koku is roughly the amount o rice necessary to sustain one adult person for one year) during the final years of the Edo period. With a pond at the center of Higo-Hosokawa garden, you can enjoy the contrast of the pink and white plum blossoms in early spring and the cherry trees that decorate the mountains then give way to a summer of rest greenery, Higo irises blossom in summer, then Japanese wax trees and Maples color the garden in autumn. In winter you can see traditional Yukitsuri (supporting ropes tied to trees to protect from he snow) of the garden’s pine trees, making for a garden that truly can be enjoyed year-round. In January of 2016, they proudly reopened the recently restored Shouseikaku, which still looks the same as it was during the Taisho period. You are invited to view the garden from the panoramic balcony on the second floor of the Shoseikaku.

Features and Sights to See at Higo-Hosokawa Garden

The garden that proclaims the legacy of the Hosokawa clan, the Higo-Kumamoto domain lords

The gardens make the most of the varied landforms and use the wide area as mountains to create a multi-dimensional landscape. The garden is designed as a circular garden and one of the paths is like a worn line in the grass. It is a watering-style garden and the pond is filled with natural spring water.
The garden was designed to be reminiscent of a painting by Sugitani Sessho, the Olivia’s painter of the last feudal lord of Kumamoto.

The six unique and secret Higo flowers

Four of the six flowers that the Higo clan strove to continuously cultivate better ever since the Edo period can be seen in Hiso-Hosokawa Garden and include; the Higo Camellia, the Higo Chinese peony, the Higo iris, and the Higo Sasanqua Camellia.

Sense the charm o the Taisho period through the Shouseikaku

The building inside Higo-Hosokawa Garden is called the Shouseikaku and is a place where you can experience the atmosphere of the Taisho period. You can enjoy tea (*extra charge) there and the building can also be used as a meeting place (Reservations required).

About the Author

Pjechorin

I have lived and worked with my family in Japan since 2005. For many years I have been interested in the very practical and creative side of Japanese culture. In my free time I travel around, enjoy hiking in the countryside and cities, and just generally seeing and doing new things. This blog is primarily a way for me to focus my energies and record and teach others about what I have learned by experience constructively. I am interested in urban development, and sustainable micro-economics, especially home-economics, and practical things everyday families can do to survive and thrive through these changing times.