Suizen-ji Jōju-en

Suizen-ji Jōju-en is a Japanese strolling garden in the city of Kumamoto, on the island of Kyushu. It is often called Suizenji Park. The garden covers about 73,000 square metres, and in 1929 it was named both a National Place of Scenic Beauty and a National Historic Site.

Its most famous sight is a small grassy hill that is said to be modelled on Mount Fuji, rising beside a clear pond fed by a spring. The Hosokawa family, the lords of Kumamoto, began building it around 1636. The garden is a short tram ride from the city centre, and big koi swim in its small lakes.

How the garden began

The Hosokawa family's first lord of Kumamoto, Hosokawa Tadatoshi, built a tea house here around 1636 for the Japanese tea ceremony. He chose the spot because the pond was fed by a spring whose clean water was perfect for making tea. Later, during the time of Hosokawa Tsunatoshi, the grounds were rebuilt as a strolling garden with paths and an artificial hill, and named Seishu-en after a line from a poem by Tao Yuanming.

Wars, rebuilding and today

The Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 destroyed the tea house and left the garden in ruins. Former retainers of the Kumamoto lords bought the land and built Izumi Shrine to honour the Hosokawa family. The thatched Kokin-Denju-no-Ma teahouse, which you can see now, was moved here from the Kyoto Imperial Palace in 1912. The park also holds a temple, miniature landscapes and shops selling souvenirs and snacks.

On the globe

The model shows a spring-fed pond with a grassy mound shaped like a tiny Mount Fuji beside it.