The garden was built in Karoto Shinden (currently Kisosaki-cho, Kuwana-gun, Mie Prefecture) in 1906 by the first Moroto Seiroku, who acceded to his family position as the village headman. The pond in the garden takes in water from a canal and is called a “tidal pond.” The pond originally created varying landscapes as the tide changed, but it no longer uses seawater.
cultural property : historic sites and places of scenic beauty as natural monuments
type : places of scenic beauty
18 Taichimaru, Kuwana-shi, Mie-ken 511-0005
Tel：0594-25-1004
Home page : www.moroto.jp
The garden was built in Karoto Shinden (currently Kisosaki-cho, Kuwana-gun, Mie Prefecture) in 1906, by the first Moroto Seiroku, who acceded to his family position as the village headman.
The garden mainly consists of two sections, which are the garden with a grove and a pond in front of the former Yamada residence, and the palace garden in front of the palace’s study. The west and north borders of the site are marked by a moat.
The garden of the former Yamada residence is a stroll garden centered around a shallow pond stretching east and west. In the mid-section of the pond, zigzag stone bridges are installed to connect the southern edge with Nakajima (the central island) and Mt. Sotetsu on the northern edge. Suiko-tei, which was built in the Edo Period, stands at the western edge of the pond. It is believed that the area around Suiko-tei includes the oldest features of the garden. The palace garden is meant to be viewed from a zashiki (a sitting room). It consists of a pond in the center in front of the study, and dynamic stone arrangements that remind viewers of a rough seashore or deep mountains protect the pond edges. The shore has two levels, and the sandy bottom level submerges and reappears depending on the tide.
The garden at the former Yamada residence retains many of its original characteristics, while the palace garden is valuable as a unique garden built by a wealthy rural merchant in Japan’s modern time.