100 Tokyo Sights by Stephen Mansfield

Author:Stephen Mansfield
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

The soaring trusses and support pillars of Tokyo Skytree.

Photo frames are popular with tourists.

The curving sky corridor creates a sense of stepping out above the city.

On a fine day, the views from the observatories are unmatched.

HYAKKA-EN “GARDEN OF A HUNDRED FLOWERS”

Location 3-18-3 Higashi-Mukojima, Sumida-ku.

Access Higashi Mukojima Station on the Skytree Line.

Hours 9.00 a.m.–5.00 p.m. daily.

Fee ¥

It is difficult to make out a formal design at Hyakka-en, “Garden of a Hundred Flowers.” What we have instead is something akin to a horticultural allotment, with portions of the garden set aside for the planting of small trees, herbs, vegetable trellises, wild grasses, and flowers. Contrary to the immaculately laid out gardens of the nobility, the grounds of Hyakka-en, designed by Sahara Kiku, a retired antiques dealer, in the early 19th century, represents, as the work of a town commoner, a liberation from landscape formalities. Sahara asked his friends, many of whom were gifted writers and poets, to contribute one plum tree each. Gathering together to enjoy such aesthetic pleasures as moon viewing and listening to the sound of insects, plants connected with the classical literature of Japan and China were introduced into the garden. Many of the stones in the garden are incised with poems written by Sahara and his friends, the verses flowing in beautiful calligraphic strokes. Poetry readings and other cultural and seasonal events take place on a regular basis. Donated to the city in 1938, the garden suffered considerable damage during the 1945 air raids, but restoration efforts, spurred by local residents, have restored it to its original form.

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