Ritsurin Garden

About this place

Ritsurin Garden is a large historic garden in the city of Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku. It is one of the largest traditional strolling gardens in Japan and a major attraction of the prefecture. Ikoma Takatoshi, the feudal lord of Takamatsu, began it in 1625 around the South Pond, using the greenery of Mount Shiun behind it as a backdrop; lords of the Matsudaira family continued the work, and it was completed in 1745 by the fifth lord after a hundred years of improvements and extensions. It was a private garden and villa for the lords and opened to the public on 16 March 1875. The garden lies in a former riverbed on the east side of Mount Shiun, dotted with ponds and small artificial hills, with pine trees trained into artistic shapes along their banks. The southern part is in traditional Japanese style with historic teahouses, while the northern part was redesigned in Western style. Visitors stroll the paths between ponds and wooden bridges, stop at the teahouses, and enjoy cherry blossom in spring and autumn colours.