Joshi-tei was originally part of the villa of Satake Yoshizumi, the third lord of the Akita Domain in the Genroku period (1688 – 1704). It is positioned next to the Karamete-mon gate (back gateway) of the Satake Family’s Kubota-jyo Castle. The garden is located in a scenic site, commanding a distant view of the Taihei cordillera. It was designated as a National Place of Scenic Beauty in 2007. It has been restored and improved based on ruins and historical sources since 2014, and was opened to the public in October 2017.
cultural property : historic sites and places of scenic beauty as natural monuments
type : places of scenic beauty
2-73, Asahikawaminamimachi, Akita-shi, Akita-ken 010-0834
Tel：018-834-6300
Home page : https://www.city.akita.lg.jp/kanko/kanrenshisetsu/1002685/1013885/1002284.html
This garden was created in a scenic area of the countryside of the Tohoku region during the mid-Edo period. A Tsukiyama (artificial hill) in the garden blends in with the surrounding mountains, creating its own natural features.
The garden was created with the north as its front, commanding a distant view of Shin Shiroyama mountain and the Taihei cordillera. Kankodai, the tallest artificial hill in the garden is located in the northeast of the garden, from which three artificial hills to the south and one to the west continue. A “Gyokukanchi,” a garden pond with shallow streams, is located at the center of the garden premises, featuring Nakajima (the central island) made of a three-meter boulder, “Kyogoto,” at the center of the pond. Water flowing out of the valley of an eastern artificial hill forms a Tsutai-ochi (water flowing on slopes) waterfall, “Jingensen,” reaches the pond, and again flows out of the pond from its western side, forming a stream. The stream flows along the south side of an ornamental stone, “Kakkoseki,” goes under a stone bridge, “Seikikyo,” forms a mountain stream, and reaches the tea garden of a tearoom, “Seion-tei,” located on a lower level. The stream from the east to the west flows continuously, and the structure of the “15 views in the garden” along with the name of Joshi-tei are unique and are considered to hold high artistic value.