Shosei-en Garden (Kikoku-tei)

The Kikoku-tei detached residence of the Higashi Honganji Temple got its name from the trifoliate orange (karatachi, also read as kikoku) hedge planted around it. This was where the 13th chief abbot, Sennyo, laid out a garden and residence with the help of the Confucian scholar Ishikawa Jozan in 1653, on land donated by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun, in 1641. The land is near the site of Kawara-in, where Minamoto-no-Toru, Minister of the Left and believed to be the model for Hikaru Genji in The Tale of Genji, recreated the landscape of Shiogama in northern Japan in the 9th century. The garden was laid out around a large central pond, called Ingetsu-chi (Pond of the Moon’s Image), which has a number of islands connected with stone or earth bridges. Trees were planted around the pond, and famous places connected with Prince Toru were modeled, recreating the atmosphere of the Heian Period. The garden contains a number of buildings that were rebuilt after being burned in the great fire that followed the 1864 Hamaguri Gomon Incident rebellion, such as the Bokakaku Ornamental Gate, the Rofu-tei Study, the Tekisui-ken Reception Hall, the Rinchi-tei Reception Hall, Sochinkyo Teahouse, the Shukuen-tei Reception Hall, the Onrindo Buddha Hall, and the Kaito-ro Corridor, all of which blend in beautifully with the garden.
The garden was designated a Place of Scenic Beauty in 1936.
Kyoto City