Gyokuseninmaru Garden
From Ninomaru square we entered the garden from above
with the garden in a dip below, which gave a stunning view of the whole garden.
The paths then step down and circular the garden, which give great viewpoints
from different angles. The Gyokuseninmaru Garden was only reconstructed in 2015
and is totally free to enter and to be enjoyed. The beautiful small garden has
a central pond, with islands, multiple bridges, and lots of stunning niwaki
trees.
The area and garden were then abandoned in the Meiji
period (1868-1912) and so lost its former appearance. But in May 2013,
reconstruction work was commenced! Following a design process which were based
on old literature, drawings, information, and results from a 5 year excavation
surveys that had first began in 2008.
Although we had planned to visit the Gyokuseninmaru Garden, it surprised us how stunning it was, like a little hidden oasis!
The Gyokuseninmaru garden and area is said to have
been first constructed in 1634, by the third lord Toshitsune Maeda. The garden
is thought to have been a unique garden for its time, as it was the first of
its kind to use creatively patterned stone walls. The Gyokuseninmaru area at
the time was continually maintained by the successive lords of the domain and
is thought that the garden served mainly as a courtyard for the domain lord,
rather than being used for entertaining guests.
To preserve the remains of the old garden, new soil
was landscaped over the entire ground and the new garden was constructed on the
new soil filled ground! Also, the stone walls around the edges of the garden
were restored and the entire Gyokuseninmaru area was landscaped. And so, in
March 2015 the reconstruction was completed and would certainly make the past
lords proud!
From the Gyokueninmaru we ventured back through more
of the Castles stunning grounds and headed back to our hotel to check in! After a quick freshen up, we headed out to get
something the eat and to explore the area town after dark!
