Komagome
Komagome
Station is
a train station located in Komagome
district of Toshima Ward of Tokyo.
The station is served by East Japan
Railway Company Yamanote Line and
Tokyo Metro Namboku Line.
Komagome
is located in the north of Tokyo.
During
the 17th to 19th centuries, feudal
lords of Edo built their residences
in this area because of the serenity
of the place. Komagome still retains
much of the Edo charm as is evident
from the several shrines and Jizo
(guardian deity of small children)
located in the area surrounding
the station. The many shops of Komagome
sell Japanese-style accessories
and kimono fabric, and the small
restaurants sell traditional Japanese
delicacies. But what Komagome is
best known for is its greenery and
many parks. The
best known garden of the area is
Rikugien, which can easily be reached
by walking from Komagome Station.
Rikugien
Garden
Rikugien
Garden is not only one of Tokyo's,
but also Japan's, most beautiful
and famous Japanese landscaped gardens.
It was built in 1695 by feudal lord
Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, a favorite
of Shogun Tunayoshi Tokugawa, and
was completed in 1702. It remained
private property till 1938, when
it was donated to the Tokyo City
Government, who later opened it
to the public. In 1953, the garden
was designated a special site of
exceptional beauty and an important
cultural asset.
Rikugien
is a spacious garden, which takes
about an hour to stroll through
all its walking paths. There is
a large pond with some small islands
in the middle of the garden. Other
features include manicured grass,
man-made hills, forested areas,
crooked
rustic bridges over gurgling streams
,
stone
lanterns, and
several wooden tea houses spread
throughout the garden. Literally
meaning “six poems garden”, Rikugien
also has recreations of 88 miniature
scenes from famous Japanese and
Chinese poems.
Rikugien
Garden
is a poetic garden that attracts
tourists in large numbers. It is
open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Kyu-Furukawa
Garden
Kyu-Furukawa
Garden, the other beautiful
garden near Komagome Station, was
built in 1914 by Furukawa Zaibatsu,
the head of one of Japan's earliest
business groups. It is divided into
two parts – the Western style house
with a garden in front of it, and
the Japanese garden. The Western
part was designed by British architect
Josiah Conder (1852-1920), and the
Japanese garden by the prominent
Kyoto garden architect Ogawa Jihei
(1860-1933) . Both the parts with
their different features blend together
beautifully – with the Western house
on top of a hill, its garden on
the slope in front, and the Japanese
garden below.
The
Western-style house is a classic
English brick structure, very much
like those found in the English
countryside. The rose garden, located
on the gently sloping terrace in
front of the house, is divided into
three tiers. The middle tier is
the main flowerbed. Although not
very large, this garden is very
well kept and has dozens of varieties
of roses.
Just
below the sloping rose garden is
a group of large azalea hedges that
forms a kind of border. On the other
side of the hedges is the beautiful
Japanese garden. In the middle of
this garden is a pond, called Shinji-Ike
, with a gracefully curving
shoreline. In the pond there are
colorful fish and turtles that are
a delight to watch. An artificial
waterfall drops down into the pond,
which adds to its beauty. There
is also a teahouse and a large lantern
on one side of the pond. The rest
of the garden is all beautiful sloping
hills and a forest with paths winding
through them. The paths are lined
with stone lanterns.
Kyu-Furukawa
Garden is highly recommended
for the beautiful blend of east
and west.
