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19-602: The construction of the gardens took place between 1695 and 1702, and was headed by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu by permission of the fifth Tokugawa shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi . It is a typical example of a daimyo garden from the Edo period . After the death of Yanagisawa, it was neglected. The founder of Mitsubishi, Iwasaki Yatarō , bought the gardens in 1878 and began to restore it. This was continued by his younger brother and successor, Iwasaki Yanosuke . The gardens today are about one-third of their original size. In 1938, they were donated to

38-457: A kanji from the name of the shōgun, and came to call himself Yoshiyasu. He built Rikugien Garden , a traditional Japanese garden, in 1695. He had an adopted son named Yanagisawa Yoshisato by Tokugawa Tsunayoshi with Yoshiyasu's concubine, Sumeko. Yanagisawa played a pivotal role in the matter of the forty-seven rōnin . Yanagisawa is the subject the diary memoir of his concubine Ōgimachi Machiko (正親町町子, 1675 - 1724), Matsukage no nikki ('In

57-472: A samurai and minor official who, by the end of the first novel, becomes the trusted chief investigator for the fifth Tokugawa shōgun , Tokugawa Tsunayoshi , and by the tenth novel, is promoted to a very high office. Throughout the stories, Sano constantly has to deal with the moral conflict of following the code of bushido while serving both justice and his master, the Shogun. After his arranged marriage at

76-638: A series of novels in Victorian England during the Jack the Ripper murders. The protagonist of the series is a fictional photographer named Sarah Bain. According to Rowland, Bain has "inside information about the Ripper murders and personal reasons for keeping it secret." Laura Picker, writing for Publishers Weekly , noted, "As with all successful historicals, Rowland's Sano novels blend painstaking research with characters whose personalities and inner struggles engage

95-514: A writing course that she found her calling. Using as her inspiration P.D. James and Elizabeth George , Rowland set out to write a mystery novel. She had been a big fan of samurai films during her university days, and decided to set her first novel in feudal Japan because "I needed to carve out a territory for myself, and feudal Japan was wide open. It was a marriage of interest and opportunity." Rowland wrote two novels, which were rejected for publication. After finishing her third novel, she sent

114-400: Is an American detective/mystery author best known for her series of historical mystery novels featuring protagonist Sano Ichirō ( 佐野 一郎 ) set in feudal Japan, mostly in Edo during the late 17th century. She is also the author of two other historical mystery series, one featuring a fictionalized Charlotte Brontë , as well an ongoing series set in Victorian England around the time of

133-651: The Jack the Ripper murders . Laura Joh Rowland is the granddaughter of Chinese American and Korean American immigrants. She grew up in Harper Woods, Michigan and was educated at the University of Michigan , where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and a Master of Public Health. She tried a number of careers after college, including chemist, microbiologist, quality engineer with Lockheed Martin , and freelance illustrator, but it wasn't until she took

152-750: The Tokyo City government. They were specified as a special place of scenic beauty ( 特別名勝 , tokubetsu meishō ) by the Japanese government in 1953. The gardens are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are a short walk from Komagome Station on the JR Yamanote line and the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line . There are no parking lots . General admission ( junior high school and above) is 300 yen. People over 65 pay 150 yen, and students under junior high school age (and junior high school students living or studying in

171-565: The Tokyo metropolitan area ) may enter for free. For short periods during spring and autumn the cherry blossoms and autumn foliage respectively are temporarily lit up and the gardens remain open until 9 p.m. [REDACTED] Media related to Rikugi-en at Wikimedia Commons 35°43′59″N 139°44′48″E  /  35.73306°N 139.74667°E  / 35.73306; 139.74667 Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu ( Japanese : 柳沢 吉保 , December 31, 1658 – December 8, 1714)

190-640: The Shelter of the Pine'), which gives a detailed account of Yoshiyasu's glory during the period 1685-1709 modelled on the Eiga Monogatari and in a writing style inspired by The Tale of Genji . More than 36 hand-copied manuscripts survive to the present day. An English translation appeared in 2021. Yanagisawa appears as a character in most of the novels by American mystery writer Laura Joh Rowland set in Genroku -era Japan as

209-438: The antagonist to the books' main character Sano Ichiro. Rowland's chronology differs from history by having Yanagisawa exiled in disgrace in 1694 and being replaced by Sano as Tsunayoshi's chief advisor, only to return from exile later in the series. Other details of Yanagisawa's life, however, are portrayed fairly accurately, including his relationship to the shōgun. Laura Joh Rowland Laura Joh Rowland (born 1953)

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228-478: The couple who owns the noodle shop, to the jail, to the court of the inept shogun and his elderly, eccentric mother. Rowland creates an air of romance, mystery, danger and history in an exotic setting." Wright concluded, "This novel has it all: plot, genuine human characters, atmospheric setting and the subject of cults relates well to modern times." Judith Reveal reviewed the third Victorian mystery The Hangman's Secret for New York Journal of Books , and thought it

247-639: The eleventh century. Yoshiyasu served Tsunayoshi from an early age, becoming his Wakashū and eventually rose to the position of soba yōnin . He was the daimyō of the Kawagoe han , and later of the Kōfu han in Kai Province, a signature honour as it has been the fief held by Tsunayoshi before becoming shōgun , and of Ienobu, his heir apparent, as well as having an historic familial connection; he retired in 1709. Having previously been named Yasuakira, he received

266-507: The first book of the series, Shinjū . In 2008, Rowland started a different mystery series, one that used Charlotte Brontë as the protagonist. When asked about the difficulty of focusing on such a famous historical figure, she replied, "Writing about famous people can mean challenging readers’ assumptions about them. I think a lot of readers see Charlotte Bronte as a prim church mouse who never left Haworth and never did anything but write." In 2017, Rowland branched out again, this time setting

285-399: The manuscript to two publishers and presented a copy to a Random House editor whom she had met at a writer's conference. When all three publishers expressed interest, there was a bidding war that Random House won for $ 100,000. Shinjū was subsequently published by Random House in 1994. Her feudal Japan series, which eventually reached 16 titles, deals with the experiences of Sano Ichirō,

304-455: The reader. Sustaining that combination over 16 books is no mean feat, and in doing so, Rowland has earned a place alongside the best current practitioners of the subgenre." Lane Wright, reviewing the sixth Sano novel Black Lotus , commented, "There is no one better at the esthetic detail than Laura Joh Rowland. She entices all the senses with her vivid, elegant and deeply observant writing. She realistically brings to life 17th century Japan from

323-763: The start of the fourth novel to Ueda Reiko ( 上田 麗子 ) , he also has to deal with her non-traditional attitude as she frequently involves herself in Sano's investigations. In all the novels, Sano experiences great pressure as he is faced with death if he does not fulfill his obligations to the shōgun as well. Rowland takes some literary license with known figures, creating fictionalized versions of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Emperor Higashiyama in The Samurai's Wife , and Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu . Objective historical details, however, are credibly accurate, although New York Times critic F.G. Notehelfer pointed out several historical anachronisms in

342-521: Was "initially a slow read, primarily because [Rowland] chose first person present tense as her point of view, and that gives the writing a staccato, clunky feel." Reveal also felt "There are times when one does not care for Rowland’s characters." Despite this, Reveal concluded, "Having said that, and in spite of the rather staccato narrative, the story itself holds water and reads well from beginning to end." Kirkus Reviews said of her 6th Victorian novel Garden of Sin "Rowland's portrait of Victorian London

361-559: Was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period . He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a favourite of the fifth shōgun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi . His second concubine was Ogimachi Machiko , a writer and scholar from the noble court who wrote monogatari . The Yanagisawa house traced descent to the "Kai-Genji," the branch of the Minamoto clan which had been enfeoffed with the province of Kai in

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