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Rikugien
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Posted by Herb Victoria, B.C. (My Page) on Sun, May 15, 05 at 14:04
| Most of this album at Pbase is pictures of people, but it includes several pictures of Rikugien. I think of Rikugien as a special sort of Japanese gardening - Japanese gardening on a grand scale.
We seldom read much about the Tokyo style of gardening, and about it's being different from that of Kyoto. One of the few references to the difference is in the Davidsonia magazine (Volume 1 No.2 - Summer 1970) where it says, of the Nitobe Memorial Garden in Vancouver -
"That the gardens of Tokyo, rather than the ancient temple gardens of Kyoto, served as the principal source of inspiration to Professor Mori is obvious from the extensive areas of lawn in the Garden."
Perhaps that should encourage some of us to be satisfied with lawns rather than trying to cultivate large areas of moss? For myself, I get considerable pleasure from contemplating our lawn especially when it's newly mown.
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Rikugien
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| Yes, Rikugien has a nice lawn around the central pond. Other Tokyo gardens with lawn areas include Hama Rikyu and Meiji Jingu. The Japanese garden in Washington Park in Seattle reminds me of them, with its open lawn areas. |
RE: more on Tokyo parks
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| If you want to explore Tokyo parks/gardens virtually, here's a website that will get you to all the city parks. The above comments were about Japanese gardens and lawns, and although Rikugien has a lawn area, it is not one of the ones listed as having "large grass." Have fun exploring one of my favorite cities! |
Here is a link that might be useful: Tokyo parks
RE: Rikugien
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| I love Rikugien and visit it at least once a year, especially during the Cherry Blossom time season to see a favorite weeping cherry blossom tree that is one of this garden's main attraction. I also like Kyu Furukawa Tei En (Furukawa Gardens) because it has both classic Taisho-Meiji era Western-type garden and Japanese garden. The roses that grow in the western-type garden are fantastic. I went to view the roses last Sunday, May 15, and took some lovely photos. If you have the time, please see them at my website. |
Here is a link that might be useful: touchingbeauty
RE: Rikugien
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- Posted by Herb Victoria, B.C. (My Page) on
Wed, May 18, 05 at 13:03
| In my first posting (above) I said that I thought of of Rikugien as "a special sort of Japanese gardening - Japanese gardening on a grand scale". Soon afterwards, I happened to connect to this site & read it's description of Rikugien. Maybe I should have said that I think of it as Japanese gardening "on a bigger scale than most of us can aspire to", eh? Click here for a different perspective...... |
RE: Rikugien
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| The photos of Kyu Furukawa Tei En bring back the memory of the day I visited Rikugien and later, walking through the Komagome neighborhood, learned from a father pushing his child on a park swing that there was another garden nearby. He drew a map in the dust, and I was on my way to another adventure. At Kyu Furukawa Tei En, I was the only Westerner, and several families were eager to take my photograph with their children in the Western rose garden. The grandmother of one such family couldn't stop giggling when I saw them later in the Japanese-style part of the garden and asked her (in a little Japanese and a lot of gestures) if they would pose for me by a stone lantern. Interesting cultural experience! |
RE: Rikugien
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| I am glad to learn that you have pleasant memories of your visits to Rikugien and Kyu Furukawa Tei En. I am planning to visit both the Japanese Garden of Kyu Furukawa and Rikugien this Autumn and I will definitely take some photos for my web log. |
Here is a link that might be useful: TouchingBeauty
RE: Rikugien
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| I agree that Rikugien deserves increased attention. It has a few very charming spots. But to me Kyu Furukawa Teien is little more than a dump with a lot of bugs. I guess the flower beds there are nice if you're into that kind of thing. |
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