Wide lawns
Rare in Japanese gardens.
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Korakuen is a landscape garden in the city of Okayama in western Japan, beside Okayama Castle and about 2 km from Okayama Station in a straight line. With Kenroku-en in Kanazawa and Kairaku-en in Mito it is counted among the Three Great Gardens of Japan. The lord of Okayama, Ikeda Tsunamasa, ordered the garden in 1687, and it was completed in 1700. It took its present name in 1871 from a Chinese saying that a ruler should worry before his people and enjoy himself after them. Ownership passed to Okayama Prefecture and the garden opened to the public in 1884, and it has been restored using Edo-period paintings and records. It covers about 13 hectares and is crossed by a stream 640 metres long. Wide lawns, unusual in a Japanese garden, open up between ponds, tea houses and small hills, and the black keep of Okayama Castle rises above the trees as part of the view. The central pond holds islands said to recall the scenery of Lake Biwa, and the garden also keeps a small tea field and a rice paddy. The paths follow the strolling style, with a new view at every turn, and a low hill called Yuishinzan looks out over the whole garden. A footbridge links the garden with the castle across the Asahi River.
Rare in Japanese gardens.
A view over the whole garden.
Rising behind the trees.
Okayama, beside Okayama Castle, western Japan
Yes, across the river by footbridge.
Spring and autumn.