Kenrokuen Garden: Kotoji-toro, Yukitsuri, and the Three Great Gardens
Kenrokuen, one of Japan's Three Great Gardens, took shape over generations under the lords of the Kaga Domain. From the meaning behind its name to the iconic Kotoji-toro lantern, the winter ritual of yukitsuri, and the canal that still feeds its ponds, here is its story, with sources.
Kenrokuen traces back to the Renchi-tei garden that Maeda Tsunanori, the Kaga Domain's fifth lord, began in 1676, expanded and reshaped by generations of lords who followed. Named Kenrokuen in 1822, it is grouped with Korakuen in Okayama and Kairakuen in Mito as one of Japan's Three Great Gardens.
This article explains the idea of "six virtues" behind the garden's name, the story of its signature Kotoji-toro lantern, the winter tradition of yukitsuri, and the canal, Tatsumi Yosui, that still feeds the garden's ponds today, with sources.
What does the name "Kenrokuen" actually mean?
It claims six normally conflicting virtues at once: spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, water, and views.
The "six virtues" behind the name
Kenrokuen's name draws on an idea from the Chinese Song-dynasty text Luoyang Mingyuan Ji. It holds that spaciousness and seclusion, artifice and antiquity, and an abundance of water and long views are three pairs of qualities that a garden normally cannot have all at once. Combining all six, kenroku, meaning "holding all six," gave the garden its name in 1822. Matsudaira Sadanobu, a shogunate elder statesman, is said to have supplied the calligraphy for the plaque hung at its main gate.
Two gardens from two eras: Renchi-tei and Chitosedai
Kenrokuen wasn't built all at once. Renchi-tei, the sloped section of the garden, was begun in 1676 by Maeda Tsunanori, the domain's fifth lord, and forms the garden's oldest section. Chitosedai, the flatter section, was developed later, in the 1800s. Kenrokuen as it exists today is the product of these two distinct sections from two different eras, brought together into one garden.
Source:The history of Kenrokuen
The Kotoji-toro lantern, and Kenrokuen among Japan's great gardens
Kotoji-toro is a two-legged stone lantern shaped like a koto bridge; the garden ranks among Japan's Three Great Gardens.
The name and shape behind the Kotoji-toro lantern
Kenrokuen's signature Kotoji-toro lantern began as a snow-viewing lantern meant to illuminate the water's surface, evolving over time into its current two-legged form. Its distinctive shape, one leg shorter than the other, is said to resemble a kotoji, the small bridge-shaped piece that supports and tunes the strings of a koto, a traditional Japanese harp, giving the lantern its name. It stands today on the bank of Kasumigaike Pond, the garden's best-known view.
Kenrokuen's place among Japan's Three Great Gardens
Kenrokuen is grouped with Korakuen in Okayama and Kairakuen in Mito as Japan's "Three Great Gardens." All three are strolling-style gardens built around a central pond by feudal lords during the Edo period, serving simultaneously as displays of a domain's prestige and as settings where a lord could formally entertain guests.
How does yukitsuri actually protect the trees?
From November, ropes fan out from a central pole to brace branches on roughly 800 trees until mid-December.
The technique and scale of yukitsuri
Yukitsuri protects tree branches from snapping under heavy snow by running ropes outward, like the spokes of a fan, from a central pole planted at the tree's core, hoisting the branches up and inward. At Kenrokuen, craftsmen begin the work every year on November 1, stringing roughly 800 ropes across some 800 trees of all sizes throughout the garden. The work continues into mid-December and has become a fixture marking winter's approach.
Source:Kenrokuen's history and highlights: the striking beauty of yukitsuri
Karasaki Pine, the tree most identified with yukitsuri
The first tree to receive yukitsuri each year, and the one most closely identified with the practice, is Karasaki Pine. Legend holds that the 13th domain lord, Maeda Nariyasu, had seeds brought from Karasaki on the shore of Lake Biwa in present-day Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, and raised the black pine himself; its branches now spread widely along the bank of Kasumigaike Pond. Its yukitsuri work is reported in the news every year as a signal that winter has arrived.
Source:An overview of Kenrokuen
Where does the water in the garden's ponds come from?
Tatsumi Yosui, built in 1632 by Itaya Heishiro, uses a reverse-siphon design to carry river water into the garden.
Tatsumi Yosui and Itaya Heishiro's reverse siphon
The water filling Kenrokuen's ponds and winding streams is drawn from the upper Sai River by way of Tatsumi Yosui, a canal built at the order of Maeda Toshitsune, the domain's third lord, after a major fire in 1631. Engineer Itaya Heishiro completed roughly four kilometers of tunnel in under a year, using a reverse-siphon principle that exploits differences in elevation to push water uphill, delivering it to both Kanazawa Castle's moat and Kenrokuen.
Source:The genius engineer behind Tatsumi Yosui: Itaya Heishiro
FAQ
Has Kenrokuen always been open to the public?
No. It was originally a private garden reserved for the domain lord's family, and it only opened to the public in 1874. After the abolition of the domain system, the former Kaga Domain's garden was transferred to Ishikawa Prefecture and turned into a park for residents.
What role does Kasumigaike Pond play in the garden?
Kasumigaike is Kenrokuen's largest pond, and beyond its scenic role, it also stores water drawn from Tatsumi Yosui and distributes it to the garden's streams and waterfalls. The Kotoji-toro lantern stands on its bank.
Is yukitsuri unique to Kenrokuen?
No. The technique itself is used widely in snowy regions of Japan, but applying it at Kenrokuen's scale, across hundreds of trees at once, is unusual, and that scale is largely why it became known nationally as a symbol of winter in Kanazawa.
Was Kenrokuen originally part of Kanazawa Castle?
Yes. It began as land within the castle's outer grounds, developed by generations of domain lords as a garden attached to the castle. Today it's maintained as a separate park across a road from Kanazawa Castle Park, connected by the Ishikawa Bridge.