Former "Shiba-Rikyu" Garden

"Shiba-Rikyu" Garden was originally built as the garden of a mansion of OKUBO Tadatomo (1632 - 1712) , who was a member of "Shogun's" council of elders.

The garden was completed in 1686. After OKUBO Family gave up the mansion, it was owned by several other federal lords. Kishu TOKUGAWA Family owned the garden at the end of the Edo Age (1603 - 1868) . After the Edo Age finished, ARISUGAWA Imperial prince owned the garden. It was open to the public in 1924.

The "Shiba-Rikyu" Garden is located to the east of JR Hamamatsu-Cho Station.

To the South View

To the West View

A large pond is located in the middle of the garden and visitors can walk around the pond. This is the typical style for a garden of a federal lord in the Edo Age. Such a garden of a federal lord at their mansion is called a "Daimyo-Teien" Garden in Japanese.

Tall office buildings are surrounding the garden. This scenery is a good combination of modern Tokyo and historical Edo. You will see the Tokyo Tower to the west.

In the Edo Age, Shiba-Rikyu Garden was along the coast. Sea water was introduced to the garden pound through a driving channel. The channel remains from the Edo Age.

If you walk around the pond in "Shiba-Rikyu" Garden, you will see "Kyudaitei" shown in the below right picture. "Kyudaitei" is a small hill and used to be a sand hill on a beach.

The view of "Kyudaitei"

The wooden bridge to "Nakanoshima" Island

From the east side of the garden, there is a wooden bridge to the "Nakanoshima" Island located in the middle of the pond. From the west side, a bank connects to the island. The bank was built to copy the scenery of the West Lake in Hangzhou, China, which is very well known for the beautiful lake scenery.

The view from the bank was very spectacular and impressive.

In the garden, you will see a couple of stone figures. Four stone pillars are located to the south of the pond. These were originally used for a tea-ceremony house.

Four Stone Pillars

Large Stone Lantern

The view of a stone lantern and the pond was also impressive.

There is a small hill to the south of "Shiba-Rikyu" Garden. You can look over a general view of "Shiba-Rikyu" Garden from the hill. This view was also spectacular.

During the Edo Age, all of more than two hundreds federal lords had their mansions in Edo and many of these mansions had such a beautiful garden. You will imagine how Edo was a beautiful city.

Now, more than ten "Daimyo-Teien" Gardens remain in Tokyo. "Shiba-Rikyu" Garden is one of the most beautiful gardens among these gardens.

How to get there
Shiba-Rikyu Garden is located to the east of JR Hamamatsucho Station in Tokyo. It is just a few minute walk.

Official English Website:
Former Shiba-Rikyu Garden

Other Historical Sites near by:
Edo Castle
Hibiya Park
"Hama-Rikyu" Garden
Zoujyoji Temple
Sengakuji Temple