Rikugi-en Gardens 六義園

“Garden of the Six Principles”

Bunkyô-ku / Tôkyô

In 1695, YANAGISAWA Yoshiyasu (1658-1714), a close confidant of the fifth Shōgun TOKUGAWA Tsunayoshi, received an estate from him in Komagome on the northern edge of Edo. YANAGISAWA built a second residence and a strolling garden there between 1695 and 1702: Rikugi-en. This name refers to the six principles of Chinese poetry, which were adopted from Japan and adapted to the art of waka poetry. YANAGISAWA studied them and recorded his views in this typical daimyô garden. After his death, the garden fell into disrepair. At the beginning of the Meiji period (1868-1912), Mitsubishi founder IWASAKI Yatarō acquired the property. In 1938, the IWASAKI family donated the garden to the city.