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95-596: Six residences are currently located on the grounds of the estate. At its rough center is a Japanese garden , the Akasaka Imperial Gardens ( 赤坂御苑 , Akasaka-gyoen ) , where the Emperor holds a garden party ( 園遊会 , Enyūkai ) twice annually, to which are invited around 2,000 political figures, diplomatic representatives, and celebrities from various fields. There are six main access gates. The Main Gate ( 正門 ) and

190-637: A Roman Catholic family. Although Shōda was never baptized, she was educated in Catholic schools and seemed to share the faith of her parents. Rumors also speculated that Empress Kōjun had opposed the engagement. After the death of Fumihito's paternal grandmother Empress Kōjun in 2000, Reuters reported that she was one of the strongest opponents of her son's marriage, and that in the 1960s, she had driven her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to depression by persistently accusing her of not being suitable for her son. On 29 June 1990, Fumihito married Kiko Kawashima ,

285-647: A PhD in ornithology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies . In 1990, he married Kiko Kawashima , with whom he has three children: Mako , Kako , and Hisahito . In November 2020, Fumihito was officially declared heir presumptive to the throne, during the Ceremony for Proclamation of Crown Prince ( Rikkōshi-Senmei-no-gi ) in Tokyo . Preceding his investiture as Crown Prince, the ongoing Japanese imperial succession debate had resulted in some politicians holding

380-501: A challenge for the gardeners. Due to the absolute importance of the arrangement of natural rocks and trees, finding the right material becomes highly selective. The serenity of a Japanese landscape and the simple but deliberate structures of the Japanese gardens are a unique quality, with the two most important principles of garden design being "scaled reduction and symbolization". Japanese gardens always feature water, either physically with

475-601: A composition whose function is to incite mediation." Several of the famous Zen gardens of Kyoto were the work of one man, Musō Soseki (1275–1351). He was a monk, a ninth-generation descendant of the Emperor Uda and a formidable court politician, writer and organizer, who armed and financed ships to open trade with China, and founded an organization called the Five Mountains, made up of the most powerful Zen monasteries in Kyoto. He

570-612: A faint hint of the style to very many gardens. The ideas central to Japanese gardens were first introduced to Japan during the Asuka period ( c.  6th to 7th century ). Japanese gardens first appeared on the island of Honshu , the large central island of Japan. Their aesthetic was influenced by the distinct characteristics of the Honshu landscape: rugged volcanic peaks, narrow valleys, mountain streams with waterfalls and cascades, lakes, and beaches of small stones. They were also influenced by

665-524: A favorable view on rescinding agnatic primogeniture , which was implemented in 1889 and reinforced on the constitution of Japan by the Allies after World War II . However, once Fumihito and Kiko had their son Hisahito in September 2006 he became next in the line of succession following his father. Fumihito's niece and Emperor Naruhito's only child, Princess Aiko , remains at present legally ineligible to inherit

760-522: A housing for dry nurses of the Ministry of the Imperial Household built in 1931 (where Kazuko Takatsukasa , daughter of Emperor Showa lived from 1968 to 1989) and an expansion built in 2000, further expanded for the birth of Hisahito . Prince Akishino moved into the building in 1990. From 2019, the complex was being refurbished and renovated; works lasted until 2022. The family lives a few meters to

855-542: A more naturalistic style, of which the Japanese style was an attractive variant. There were immediately popular in the UK, where the climate was similar and Japanese plants grew well. Japanese gardens, typically a section of a larger garden, continue to be popular in the West, and many typical Japanese garden plants, such as cherry trees and the many varieties of Acer palmatum or Japanese maple, are also used in all types of garden, giving

950-708: A much more radical approach to the traditions. One example is Awaji Yumebutai , a garden on the island of Awaji , in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, designed by Tadao Ando . It was built as part of a resort and conference center on a steep slope, where land had been stripped away to make an island for an airport. Japanese gardens are distinctive in their symbolism of nature, with traditional Japanese gardens being very different in style from occidental gardens: "Western gardens are typically optimised for visual appeal while Japanese gardens are modelled with spiritual and philosophical ideas in mind." Japanese gardens are conceived as

1045-588: A new garden architecture style appeared, created by the followers of Pure Land Buddhism . These were called "Paradise Gardens", built to represent the legendary Paradise of the West, where the Amida Buddha ruled. These were built by noblemen who wanted to assert their power and independence from the Imperial household, which was growing weaker. The best surviving example of a Paradise Garden is Byōdō-in in Uji , near Kyoto. It

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1140-451: A pond or stream, or symbolically, represented by white sand in a dry rock garden. In Buddhist symbolism, water and stone are thought of as yin and yang , two opposites that complement and complete each other. A traditional garden will usually have an irregular-shaped pond or, in larger gardens, two or more ponds connected by a channel or stream, and a cascade, a miniature version of Japan's famous mountain waterfalls. In traditional gardens,

1235-515: A promenade garden, meant to be seen from the winding garden paths, with elements of the Zen garden, such as artificial mountains, meant to be contemplated from a distance. The most famous garden of this kind, built in 1592, is situated near the Tokushima castle on the island of Shikoku . Its notable features include a bridge 10.5 metres (34 ft) long made of two natural stones. Another notable garden of

1330-482: A prototype for future Japanese architecture. They opened up onto the garden, so that the garden seemed entirely part of the building; whether the visitor was inside or outside of the building, they would ideally always feel they were in the center of nature. The garden buildings were arranged so that were always seen from a diagonal, rather than straight on. This arrangement had the poetic name ganko , which meant literally "a formation of wild geese in flight". Most of

1425-554: A representation of a natural setting, tying in to Japanese connections between the land and Shinto spiritualism, where spirits are commonly found in nature; as such, Japanese gardens tend to incorporate natural materials, with the aim of creating a space that captures the beauties of nature in a realistic manner. Traditional Japanese gardens can be categorized into three types: tsukiyama (hill gardens), karesansui (dry gardens) and chaniwa gardens (tea gardens). The small space given to create these gardens usually poses

1520-508: A residence for late Prince Tomohito , who died in 2012. This 2 floor building has 15 rooms, not taking into account the handmaid dependencies. At the time of the Prince's death, Princess Nobuko was living separately from her husband since 2009, leaving the residence to their two daughters, Princess Akiko and Princess Yoko . When the prince died, the Mikasa imperial lineage was merged and the building

1615-445: A stimulant to keep awake during long periods of meditation. The first great tea master, Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591), defined in the most minute detail the appearance and rules of the tea house and tea garden, following the principle of wabi ( 侘び , "sober refinement and calm") . Following Sen no Rikyū's rules, the teahouse was supposed to suggest the cottage of a hermit-monk. It was a small and very plain wooden structure, often with

1710-413: A thatched roof, with just enough room inside for two tatami mats. The only decoration allowed inside a scroll with an inscription and a branch of a tree. It did not have a view of the garden. The garden was also small, and constantly watered to be damp and green. It usually had a cherry tree or elm to bring color in the spring, but otherwise did not have bright flowers or exotic plants that would distract

1805-489: A well-designed garden as near as possible to its original condition, and many famous gardens appear to have changed little over several centuries, apart from the inevitable turnover of plants, in a way that is extremely rare in the West. Awareness of the Japanese style of gardening reached the West near the end of the 19th century, and was enthusiastically received as part of the fashion for Japonisme , and as Western gardening taste had by then turned away from rigid geometry to

1900-407: Is a 2-floor Art Deco hipped roof reinforced-concrete building. It has 19 rooms (including offices and handmaid dependencies) and a garden with a pergola . Two of Prince Takamado's daughters ( Noriko Senge and Ayako Moriya ) have left the imperial family after their marriage to commoners, leaving the widow Princess Hisako , and one daughter, Princess Tsuguko , as remaining members of the branch in

1995-473: Is also known as a "catfish specialist," has managed to maintain and expand the aquacultural studies with the people of Thailand. The prince has worked as a researcher at The University Museum of The University of Tokyo where he also is an Honorary Fellow. Prior to Fumihito's birth, the announcement about the then-Crown Prince Akihito's engagement and marriage to the then-Ms. Michiko Shōda had drawn opposition from traditionalist groups, because Shōda came from

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2090-645: Is somewhat obscure, one of the Japanese words for garden— niwa —came to mean a place that had been cleansed and purified in anticipation of the arrival of  kami , and the Shinto reverence for great rocks, lakes, ancient trees, and other "dignitaries of nature" would exert an enduring influence on Japanese garden design. Japanese gardens were also strongly influenced by the Chinese philosophy of Daoism and Amida Buddhism, imported from China in or around 552 CE. Daoist legends spoke of five mountainous islands inhabited by

2185-455: Is that they are designed to be seen from specific points. Some of the most significant different traditional styles of Japanese garden are the chisen-shoyū-teien ("lake-spring-boat excursion garden"), which was imported from China during the Heian period (794–1185). These were designed to be seen from small boats on the central lake. No original examples of these survive, but they were replaced by

2280-564: Is the heir presumptive to the Japanese throne . He is the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito , and the younger son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko . Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title Prince Akishino ( 秋篠宮 , Akishino-no-miya ) and has headed his own branch of the imperial family. Fumihito has a bachelor's degree in political science from Gakushuin University and

2375-563: The Man'yōshū , the "Collection of Countless Leaves", the oldest known collection of Japanese poetry. The Nara period is named after its capital city Nara . The first authentically Japanese gardens were built in this city at the end of the 8th century. Shorelines and stone settings were naturalistic, different from the heavier, earlier continental mode of constructing pond edges. Two such gardens have been found at excavations, both of which were used for poetry-writing festivities. One of these gardens,

2470-423: The kami , the gods and spirits, are found on beaches and in forests all over the island. They often took the form of unusual rocks or trees marked with cords of rice fiber ( shimenawa ) and surrounded with white stones or pebbles, a symbol of purity. The white gravel courtyard became a distinctive feature of Shinto shrines, Imperial Palaces, Buddhist temples, and Zen gardens . Although its original meaning

2565-504: The roji or teahouse garden, designed to be seen only from a short pathway, and the tsubo-niwa , a very small urban garden. Most modern Japanese homes have little space for a garden, though the tsubo-niwa style of tiny gardens in passages and other spaces, as well as bonsai (in Japan always grown outside) and houseplants mitigates this, and domestic garden tourism is very important. The Japanese tradition has long been to keep

2660-639: The daimyō , around which new cities and gardens appeared. The characteristic garden of the period featured one or more ponds or lakes next to the main residence, or shoin , not far from the castle. These gardens were meant to be seen from above, from the castle or residence. The daimyō had developed the skills of cutting and lifting large rocks to build their castles, and they had armies of soldiers to move them. The artificial lakes were surrounded by beaches of small stones and decorated with arrangements of boulders, with natural stone bridges and stepping stones . The gardens of this period combined elements of

2755-573: The Eight Immortals , who lived in perfect harmony with nature. Each Immortal flew from his mountain home on the back of a crane . The islands themselves were located on the back of an enormous sea turtle . In Japan, the five islands of the Chinese legend became one island, called Horai-zen, or Mount Horai . Replicas of this legendary mountain, the symbol of a perfect world, are a common feature of Japanese gardens, as are rocks representing turtles and cranes. The earliest recorded Japanese gardens were

2850-835: The Graduate University for Advanced Studies in October 1996. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "Molecular Phylogeny of Jungle Fowls, genus Gallus and Monophyletic Origin of Domestic Fowls ". He conducted field research in Indonesia in 1993 and 1994, and in Yunnan Province in the People's Republic of China. When the Emperor Emeritus was then Crown Prince, he introduced tilapia to Thailand as an important source of protein. Tilapia can be easily cultured and Prince Fumihito, who

2945-563: The Kyoto Imperial Palace of 794, the Heian-jingū , was built in Kyoto in 1895 to celebrate the 1100th birthday of the city. The south garden is famous for its cherry blossom in spring, and for azaleas in the early summer. The west garden is known for its irises in June, and the large east garden lake recalls the leisurely boating parties of the 8th century. Near the end of the Heian period,

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3040-587: The National Archives , Fumihito's requests to follow in his elder brother's footsteps and study in Britain were initially turned down by the Imperial Household Agency. Upon the death of his grandfather, Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), on 7 January 1989, the prince became second-in-line to the throne after his elder brother, Crown Prince Naruhito . The prince received a PhD degree in ornithology from

3135-645: The Shōwa period (1926–1989), many traditional gardens were built by businessmen and politicians. After World War II, the principal builders of gardens were no longer private individuals, but banks, hotels, universities and government agencies. The Japanese garden became an extension of the landscape architecture with the building. New gardens were designed by landscape architects , and often used modern building materials such as concrete. Some modern Japanese gardens, such as Tōfuku-ji , designed by Mirei Shigemori , were inspired by classical models. Other modern gardens have taken

3230-402: The imperial family . Japanese garden Japanese gardens ( 日本庭園 , nihon teien ) are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden designers to suggest a natural landscape, and to express

3325-559: The pleasure gardens of the emperors and nobles. They are mentioned in several brief passages of the Nihon Shoki , the first chronicle of Japanese history, published in 720 CE. In spring 74 CE, the chronicle recorded: "The Emperor Keikō put a few carp into a pond, and rejoiced to see them morning and evening". The following year, "The Emperor launched a double-hulled boat in the pond of Ijishi at Ihare, and went aboard with his imperial concubine, and they feasted sumptuously together". In 486,

3420-519: The "marsh pond" style, a large still pond with aquatic plants; the "mountain torrent style", with many rocks and cascades; and the "rose letters" style, an austere landscape with small, low plants, gentle relief and many scattered flat rocks. Crown Prince Akishino The Emperor The Empress The Emperor Emeritus The Empress Emerita Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino ( 秋篠宮皇嗣文仁親王 , Akishino-no-miya Kōshi Fumihito Shinnō , born 30 November 1965, Japanese: [ɸɯmiꜜçi̥to] )

3515-457: The "paradise garden" associated with Pure Land Buddhism , with a Buddha shrine on an island in the lake. Later large gardens are often in the kaiyū-shiki-teien , or promenade garden style, designed to be seen from a path circulating around the garden, with fixed stopping points for viewing. Specialized styles, often small sections in a larger garden, include the moss garden , the dry garden with gravel and rocks, associated with Zen Buddhism ,

3610-536: The 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In October 2002, they visited the Netherlands to attend the funeral of Prince Claus of the Netherlands . In September 2003, they made goodwill visits to Fiji , Tonga and Samoa , again, the first time ever members of the Imperial Family had visited these countries. In March 2004, the prince and princess returned to the Netherlands for the funeral of Queen Juliana of

3705-780: The East Palace garden at Heijō Palace , Nara, has been faithfully reconstructed using the same location and even the original garden features that had been excavated. It appears from the small amount of literary and archaeological evidence available that the Japanese gardens of this time were modest versions of the Imperial gardens of the Tang dynasty, with large lakes scattered with artificial islands and artificial mountains. Pond edges were constructed with heavy rocks as embankment. While these gardens had some Buddhist and Daoist symbolism, they were meant to be pleasure gardens, and places for festivals and celebrations. Recent archaeological excavations in

3800-522: The East in a temporary palace built on purpose, called Gokagusho ( 御仮寓所 , litt. "Temporary Residence") . Crown Prince Akishino , his consort Kiko , their younger daughter Princess Kako , and their son Prince Hisahito live in this residence. The East Mikasa Residence ( 三笠宮東邸 , Misakanomiya-Totei ) is located southwest of the Akishino Residence. This 2 floor building was achieved in 1982 as

3895-556: The Emperor when he was hospitalized. He and other members of the imperial family visited the affected areas after the Great East Japan earthquake in March 2011. From June to July 2014, Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko visited Republic of Zambia and United Republic of Tanzania. In accordance with legislation passed allowing his father's abdication , he became heir presumptive to the throne on 30 April 2019. Once plans were announced for

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3990-632: The Gakushūin. In April 1984, the prince entered the Law Department of Gakushuin University , where he studied law and biological science. After graduating from the university with a bachelor's degree in Political Science , he studied the taxonomy of fish at St John's College, Oxford in the United Kingdom from October 1988 to June 1990. According to British government documents released by

4085-549: The Golden Pavilion , built in 1398, and Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion , built in 1482. In some ways they followed Zen principles of spontaneity, extreme simplicity and moderation, but in other ways they were traditional Chinese Song-dynasty temples; the upper floors of the Golden Pavilion were covered with gold leaf, and they were surrounded by traditional water gardens. The most notable garden style invented in this period

4180-630: The Imperial Household Economy Council to form a new branch of the Imperial Family. The marriage was bitterly resented by officials at the Imperial Household Agency , who had desired that the Prince adhere to tradition and not get married before his elder brother. Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino have two daughters and one son: Fumihito serves as the president of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology and

4275-657: The Japanese Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquariums. He is also the honorary president of the World Wide Fund for Nature Japan , the Japan Tennis Association , and the Japan-Netherlands Association. The prince and princess have made numerous official visits to foreign countries. In June 2002, they became the first members of the Imperial Family to visit Mongolia , in celebration of

4370-636: The Japanese court sent fifteen more legations to the court of the Tang dynasty . These legations, with more than five hundred members each, included diplomats, scholars, students, Buddhist monks, and translators. They brought back Chinese writing, art objects, and detailed descriptions of Chinese gardens. In 612 CE, the Empress Suiko had a garden built with an artificial mountain, representing Shumi-Sen, or Mount Sumeru , reputed in Hindu and Buddhist legends to be located at

4465-730: The Mongol invasions. The monks brought with them a new form of Buddhism, called simply Zen , or "meditation". Japan enjoyed a renaissance in religion, in the arts, and particularly in gardens. The term Zen garden appears in English writing in the 1930s for the first time, in Japan zen teien , or zenteki teien comes up even later, from the 1950s. It applies to a Song China -inspired composition technique derived from ink-painting. The composition or construction of such small, scenic gardens have no relation to religious Zen. Many famous temple gardens were built early in this period, including Kinkaku-ji,

4560-407: The Netherlands . In January 2005, they visited Luxembourg to attend the funeral of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte . From October to November 2006, they visited Paraguay to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Japanese emigration to that country. In January 2008, they visited Indonesia for a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and

4655-695: The Republic of Indonesia. The prince and princess visited Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania in May 2009 on the occasion of "Japan-Danube Friendship Year 2009" and the Netherlands in August 2009 for the commemorative event of the 400th anniversary of the trade relations between Japan and the Netherlands. They have also visited Costa Rica, Uganda, Croatia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Peru, and Argentina. In addition, Fumihito carried out public duties on behalf of

4750-750: The Samegahashi Gate ( 鮫が橋門 ) are along Road 414 on the northern side, the East Gate ( 東門 ) and the Tatsumi Gate ( 巽門 ) face east, the South Gate ( 南門 ) faces Aoyama Dori, and the West Gate ( 西門 ) faces Gaien-Higashi Dori on the southwestern side of the estate. The estate was once on the grounds of the spare residence ( 中屋敷 ) in Edo of the powerful Tokugawa clan of Kii , granted in 1632, which at 145,381 tsubo

4845-599: The accession of Emperor Naruhito. They visited Poland and Finland to participate in the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relationship between Japan and the two countries. In August 2019, the couple and their son, Hisahito, arrived in Bhutan for a visit. The public proclamation of Fumihito as crown prince did not take place on 19 April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . His accession as crown prince took place privately. On 8 November 2020, Fumihito

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4940-638: The ancient capital of Nara have brought to light the remains of two 8th-century gardens associated with the Imperial Court, a pond and stream garden – the To-in – located within the precinct of the Imperial Palace and a stream garden – Kyuseki – found within the modern city. They may be modeled after Chinese gardens, but the rock formations found in the To-in would appear to have more in common with prehistoric Japanese stone monuments than with Chinese antecedents, and

5035-405: The arms of an armchair, with the garden between them. The gardens featured one or more lakes connected by bridges and winding streams. The south garden of the imperial residences had a uniquely Japanese feature: a large empty area of white sand or gravel. The emperor was the chief priest of Japan, and the white sand represented purity, and was a place where the gods could be invited to visit. The area

5130-401: The attention of the visitor. A path led to the entrance of the teahouse. Along the path was waiting bench for guests and a privy, and a stone water-basin near the teahouse, where the guests rinsed their hands and mouths before entering the tea room through a small, square door called nijiri-guchi , or "crawling-in entrance", which requires bending low to pass through. Sen no Rikyū decreed that

5225-512: The centre of the world. During the reign of the same empress, one of her ministers, Soga no Umako, had a garden built at his palace featuring a lake with several small islands, representing the islands of the Eight Immortals famous in Chinese legends and Daoist philosophy. This palace became the property of the Japanese emperors, was named "The Palace of the Isles", and was mentioned several times in

5320-465: The chronicle recorded that "The Emperor Kenzō went into the garden and feasted at the edge of a winding stream". Chinese gardens had a very strong influence on early Japanese gardens. In or around 552 CE, Buddhism was officially installed from China, via Korea, into Japan. Between 600 and 612 CE, the Japanese emperor sent four legations to the court of the Chinese Sui dynasty . Between 630 and 838 CE,

5415-456: The daughter of Tatsuhiko Kawashima (professor of economics at Gakushuin University ) and his wife, Kazuyo. The couple met when they were both undergraduates at Gakushuin University. Like his father, the emperor emeritus, the prince married outside the former aristocracy and former collateral branches of the imperial family. Upon marriage, he received the title Prince Akishino (Akishino-no-miya – strictly "Prince Akishino") and authorization from

5510-422: The east, to enter the garden, pass under the house, and then leave from the southeast. In this way, the water of the blue dragon will carry away all the bad spirits from the house toward the white tiger. The Imperial gardens of the Heian period were water gardens , where visitors promenaded in elegant lacquered boats, listening to music, viewing the distant mountains, singing, reading poetry, painting, and admiring

5605-638: The emperors and the rivalry of feudal warlords resulted in two civil wars (1156 and 1159), which destroyed most of Kyoto and its gardens. The capital moved to Kamakura , and then in 1336 back to the Muromachi quarter of Kyoto. The emperors ruled in name only; real power was held by a military governor, the shōgun . During this period, the government reopened relations with China, which had been broken off almost three hundred years earlier. Japanese monks went again to study in China, and Chinese monks came to Japan, fleeing

5700-522: The end of the 16th century referring to isolated tea houses. It originally applied to the simple country houses of samurai warriors and Buddhist monks, but in the Edo period it was used in every kind of building, from houses to palaces. The sukiya style was used in the most famous garden of the period, the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto. The buildings were built in a very simple, undecorated style,

5795-410: The estate’s Akasaka Residence ( 赤坂邸 , Akasakatei ) to the Emperor, who lived there for 15 years. Another residence on the southwest of the estate was given to Empress Dowager Eishō , as the Emperor wanted to have her nearby. After that point, the grounds of the estate have been used to build several residences and palaces, be it for crown princes, Empresses dowager, or close family members. On

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5890-423: The fragility of existence as well as time's unstoppable advance. Ancient Japanese art inspired past garden designers. Water is an important feature of many gardens, as are rocks and often gravel. Despite there being many attractive Japanese flowering plants, herbaceous flowers generally play much less of a role in Japanese gardens than in the West, though seasonally flowering shrubs and trees are important, all

5985-509: The garden should be left unswept for several hours before the ceremony, so that leaves would be scattered in a natural way on the path. Notable gardens of the period include: During the Edo period , power was won and consolidated by the Tokugawa clan , who became the shōgun , and moved the capital to Edo , which became Tokyo . The emperor remained in Kyoto as a figurehead leader, with authority only over cultural and religious affairs. While

6080-461: The garden. Edo promenade gardens were often composed of a series of meisho , or "famous views", similar to postcards. These could be imitations of famous natural landscapes, like Mount Fuji , or scenes from Taoist or Buddhist legends, or landscapes illustrating verses of poetry. Unlike Zen gardens, they were designed to portray nature as it appeared, not the internal rules of nature. Well-known Edo-period gardens include: The Meiji period saw

6175-408: The gardens of nobles in the capital, the gardens of villas at the edge of the city, and the gardens of temples. The architecture of the palaces, residences and gardens in the Heian period followed Chinese practice. Houses and gardens were aligned on a north-south axis, with the residence to the north and the ceremonial buildings and main garden to the south, there were two long wings to the south, like

6270-443: The gardens of the Edo period were either promenade gardens or dry rock Zen gardens, and they were usually much larger than earlier gardens. The promenade gardens of the period made extensive use of borrowed scenery ( shakkei ). Vistas of distant mountains are integrated in the design of the garden; or, even better, building the garden on the side of a mountain and using the different elevations to attain views over landscapes outside

6365-473: The impending abdication and his brother's enthronement , Fumihito suggested that instead of using public money the imperial family should pay for the religious rituals in the enthronement as the constitution separates religion and state, despite the government agreeing to foot the bill. In June–July 2019, the Crown Prince and his wife carried out the first official overseas visit by the imperial family following

6460-408: The main pavilion, or from the "Hall of the Pure View", located on a higher elevation in the garden. In the east of the garden, on a peninsula, is an arrangement of stones designed to represent the mythical Mount Horai. A wooden bridge leads to an island representing a crane, and a stone bridge connects this island to another representing a tortoise, which is connected by an earth-covered bridge back to

6555-421: The modernization of Japan, and the re-opening of Japan to the West. Many of the old private gardens had been abandoned and left to ruin. In 1871, a new law transformed many gardens from the earlier Edo period into public parks, preserving them. Garden designers, confronted with ideas from the West experimented with western styles, leading to such gardens as Kyu-Furukawa Gardens , or Shinjuku Gyoen . Others, more in

6650-475: The more dramatic because of the contrast with the usual predominant green. Evergreen plants are "the bones of the garden" in Japan. Though a natural-seeming appearance is the aim, Japanese gardeners often shape their plants, including trees, with great rigour. Japanese literature on gardening goes back almost a thousand years, and several different styles of garden have developed, some with religious or philosophical implications. A characteristic of Japanese gardens

6745-461: The natural, serpentine course of the Kyuseki stream garden may be far less formal than what existed in Tang China. Whatever their origins, both the To-in and Kyuseki clearly anticipate certain developments in later Japanese gardens. In 794 CE, at the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185 CE), the Japanese court moved its capital to Heian-kyō (present-day Kyoto ). During this period, there were three different kinds of gardens: palace gardens and

6840-442: The north of Japan kept to Edo period blueprint design. A third wave was the naturalistic style of gardens, invented by captains of industry and powerful politicians like Aritomo Yamagata . Many gardeners soon were designing and constructing gardens catering to this taste. One of the gardens well-known for his technical perfection in this style was Ogawa Jihei VII , also known as Ueji. Notable gardens of this period include: During

6935-582: The north side of the estate, on the site of the initial Akasaka Residence, Tōgū Palace was built in 1909 and became the Geihinkan . After the Second World War , the Geihinkan was split from the estate and became National property, whereas the remainder is Imperial property. There are currently six imperial residences on the estate, in clockwise order: The Akasaka Palace ( 赤坂御所 ) , formerly Tōgū Palace ,

7030-482: The peninsula. The garden also includes a waterfall at the foot of a wooded hill. One characteristic of the Momoyama period garden visible at Sanbō-in is the close proximity of the buildings to the water. The Momoyama period also saw the development of chanoyu (tea ceremony), the chashitsu (teahouse), and the roji (tea garden). Tea had been introduced to Japan from China by Buddhist monks, who used it as

7125-400: The period still existing is Sanbō-in , rebuilt by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1598 to celebrate the festival of the cherry blossom and to recreate the splendor of an ancient garden. Three hundred garden-builders worked on the project, digging the lakes and installing seven hundred boulders in a space of 540 square metres (5,800 sq ft). The garden was designed to be seen from the veranda of

7220-418: The political center of Japan was now Tokyo, Kyoto remained the cultural capital, the center for religion and art. The shōgun provided the emperors with little power, but with generous subsidies for building gardens. The Edo period saw the widespread use of a new kind of Japanese architecture, called sukiya-zukuri , which means literally "building according to chosen taste". The term first appeared at

7315-520: The ponds and streams are carefully placed according to Buddhist geomancy , the art of putting things in the place most likely to attract good fortune. The rules for the placement of water were laid out in the first manual of Japanese gardens, the Sakuteiki ("Records of Garden Making") , in the 11th century. According to the Sakuteiki , water should enter the garden from the east or southeast and flow toward

7410-407: The porch of the residence the abbot of the monastery. There have been many debates about what the rocks are supposed to represent, but, as garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote, "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize. It does not have the value of representing any natural beauty that can be found in the world, real or mythical. I consider it as an abstract composition of "natural" objects in space,

7505-406: The rich variety of flowers and different species of trees, particularly evergreen trees, on the islands, and by the four distinct seasons in Japan, including hot, wet summers and snowy winters. Japanese gardens have their roots in the national religion of Shinto , with its story of the creation of eight perfect islands, and of the shinchi , the lakes of the gods. Prehistoric Shinto shrines to

7600-565: The scenery. The social life in the gardens was memorably described in the classic Japanese novel The Tale of Genji , written in about 1005 by Murasaki Shikibu , a lady-in-waiting to the empress. The traces of one such artificial lake, Osawa no ike, near the Daikaku-ji temple in Kyoto, still can be seen. It was built by the Emperor Saga , who ruled from 809 to 823, and was said to be inspired by Dongting Lake in China. A scaled-down replica of

7695-509: The south of the Yushintei (the Japanese-style annexe of the Geihinkan ) Akasaka East Palace ( 赤坂東邸 , Akasaka Higashitei ) was completed in 1984 and is mainly used as a temporary residence for Imperial family members during various construction works. Late Prince Takamado used it while his own residence was being built. It was refurbished in 1989 by adding offices and dependencies and

7790-404: The south, which represents fire, which are opposites ( yin and yang ) and therefore will bring good luck. The Sakuteiki recommends several possible miniature landscapes using lakes and streams: the "ocean style", which features rocks that appear to have been eroded by waves, a sandy beach, and pine trees; the "broad river style", recreating the course of a large river, winding like a serpent;

7885-401: The throne, while debate about the possibility of having future empresses regnant continues. As active working members of the imperial family, Fumihito and his wife Kiko's schedule includes attending summits , and organizational and global event meetings. The couple has particularly represented the Japanese imperial house in ceremonies involving heads of state and VIPs abroad. The prince

7980-619: The west, because the east is the home of the Green Dragon ( seiryu ), an ancient Chinese divinity adopted in Japan, and the west is the home of the White Tiger, the divinity of the east. Water flowing from east to west will carry away evil, and the owner of the garden will be healthy and have a long life. According to the Sakuteiki , another favorable arrangement is for the water to flow from north, which represents water in Buddhist cosmology, to

8075-612: The west. In the lake in front of the temple is a small island of white stones, representing Mount Horai, the home of the Eight Immortals of the Daoists, connected to the temple by a bridge, which symbolized the way to paradise. It was designed for mediation and contemplation, not as a pleasure garden. It was a lesson in Daoist and Buddhist philosophy created with landscape and architecture, and a prototype for future Japanese gardens. Notable existing or recreated Heian gardens include: The weakness of

8170-534: Was born on 30 November 1965 at 12:22 am in the Imperial Household Agency Hospital, Tokyo Imperial Palace . His given name is Fumihito. His mother, Empress Emerita Michiko , is a convert to Shinto from Roman Catholicism . His childhood appellation was Prince Aya (礼宮 Aya-no-miya). He attended the primary and secondary schools of the Gakushūin . He played tennis in primary and secondary schools of

8265-447: Was formally declared first in line to the chrysanthemum throne. During the ceremony he said "I will carry out my duties by deeply acknowledging my responsibilities as crown prince". His older brother during his time as Crown Prince carried the title Kōtaishi (Crown Prince, 皇太子 lit. "Great Imperial Son"), and was also referred by the Japanese press with this title until his accession to the throne. However Prince Akishino did not receive

8360-646: Was one of the largest daimyo residences of the city. In 1823, a fire destroyed the main residence of the clan in Kojimachi , turning that spare into their main Edo residence. During the Meiji Restoration , the head of the clan, Tokugawa Mochitsugu, became a Kazoku noble and lived in the estate. In 1873, a fire destroyed Nishinomaru Palace within Edo Castle , where the Emperor was staying. Mochitsugu opened that very day

8455-509: Was originally the villa of Fujiwara Michinaga (966–1028), who married his daughters to the sons of the Emperor. After his death, his son transformed the villa into a temple, and in 1053 built the Hall of Phoenix, which still stands. The Hall is built in the traditional style of a Chinese Song dynasty temple, on an island in the lake. It houses a gilded statue of the Amitābha Buddha, looking to

8550-618: Was renamed the East Mikasa Residence. Located south of the estate, the Mikasa Residence ( 三笠宮東邸 , Misakanomiyatei ) had been in use since 1970 by the late Prince Mikasa and his consort, the late Princess Yuriko . The Takamado Residence ( 高円宮低 , Takamadomiyatei ) is on the south side of the estate, next to the Mikasa Residence. It was finished in 1986 as a residence for late Prince Takamado . The residence

8645-518: Was responsible for the building of the zen gardens of Nanzen-ji , Saihō-ji (the Moss Garden), and Tenryū-ji . Notable gardens of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods include: The Momoyama period was short, just 32 years, and was largely occupied with the wars between the daimyō , the leaders of the feudal Japanese clans. The new centers of power and culture in Japan were the fortified castles of

8740-406: Was the Zen garden, dry garden , or Japanese rock garden . One of the finest examples, and one of the best-known of all Japanese gardens is Ryōan-ji in Kyoto. This garden is just 9 metres (30 ft) wide and 24 metres (79 ft) long, composed of white sand carefully raked to suggest water, and fifteen rocks carefully arranged, like small islands. It is meant to be seen from a seated position on

8835-598: Was the residence of the Emperor , the Empress and Princess Aiko , until they moved to Fukiage Palace in the Imperial Palace complex. This palace on the northern side of the estate is a two-floor, reinforced concrete structure with 72 rooms, built in 1960 based on a design by Yoshirō Taniguchi . The palace is used as the Sentō Imperial Palace ( 仙洞御所 ) for Akihito, the Emperor Emeritus. Located roughly 200m to

8930-470: Was used as a temporary palace for Naruhito several times. There are plans to include this palace in the nearby Akishino residence. The Akishino Residence ( 秋篠宮邸 , Akishinomiyatei ) is located on the south-eastern side of the estate. The residential complex is an aggregation of several former imperial residences and buildings renovated over the years: the Chichibu Residence first built in 1972,

9025-407: Was used for religious ceremonies and dances for the welcoming of the gods. The layout of the garden itself was strictly determined according to the principles of traditional Chinese geomancy , or Feng Shui . The first known book on the art of the Japanese garden, the Sakuteiki ( Records of Garden Keeping ), written in the 11th century, said: It is a good omen to make the stream arrive from

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