Kôraku-en 後楽園

landscape garden / Landschaftsgarten

Okayama City

Koraku-en garden was built by the feudal lord of Okayama, IKEDA Tsunamasa, under the order of TSUDA Nagatada, the deputy governor of Okayama county. Construction began in 1687 and was completed in 1700 after 14 years of work. It is located on the opposite bank of the Asahikawa River, which flows through Okayama City, on a sandbar opposite Okayama castle. The garden is a pond-and-spring-round garden centred on the Enyo-tei, a building where the feudal lord entertained guests, with the castle and the surrounding mountains as a backdrop. In the Edo period, the Enyo-tei was called Chaya-yashiki (teahouse residence) and the garden Go-en or Gogoen, and in 1871, when the garden was opened to the public, it was renamed Koraku-en.