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Shikina-en

The garden was a villa of the former Ryukyu Kingdom. It was used for the royal family to retreat and to entertain foreign envoys. A spring-fed pond features two islands, and three Chinese-style bridges built across the pond. The plant landscape consists of both temperate and tropical plants. It is a stroll garden where different views can be enjoyed one after another by promenading along the path circling the pond.

cultural property : historic sites and places of scenic beauty as natural monuments　
type : places of special scenic beauty

421-7 Maaji, Naha-shi, Okinawa-ken 902-0072
Tel：098-855-5936

Home page : www.city.naha.okinawa.jp/

It is a garden with a grove and a pond of a villa of the former Ryukyu Kingdom, which was built sometime prior to 1800. It was called Nan’en (south garden) because it was located to the south of Shuri-jyo castle. It was used for the royal family to retreat and to entertain foreign envoys.
A spring-fed pond features two islands and three Chinese-style bridges. An observation deck called “Kanko-dai” is located at the southern edge of the garden, commanding a panoramic view.
The garden features temperate plants, such as pines, plums, willows, and crape myrtles, as well as tropical plants, such as common garcinias (Garcinia subelliptica), Javanese bishop wood (Bischofia javanica), and Indian coral trees (Erythrina variegata). They create a plant landscape with an illusion of four seasons in tropical Okinawa. Although it is a stroll garden, a garden style often used for a Daimyo (feudal lord) garden, it shows components unique to Ryukyu, such as an S-curved stone path to ward off majimun (evil spirits), who can only move in a straight line, an oddly-shaped rock that resembles Chinese Taihu stone (porous limestone), and “funa-ageba” (a boat lift yard) where a boat could be docked.

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Garden of Mr.Ishigaki

Peechin (rank order) Ohama, an ancestor of the Ishigaki Family, built the garden based on adesign by Peechin Gusukuma, a gardener in Shuri in 1819. Ryukyu limestone is the main stone used in the garden. Based on the style of the Japanese garden—such as five sets of stone arrangements that slope down from the north to south, a stone bridge, and a dry waterfall—the garden is a Karesansui (dry landscape) that incorporates local colors, for example, plantings of Sago palms (Cycas revoluta) on a Tsukiyama (artificial hill).

cultural property : historic sites and places of scenic beauty as natural monuments　
type : places of scenic beauty

287 Arakawa, Ishigaki-shi, Okinawa-ken 907-0024
Tel：0980-82-2720

It is a garden of the Ishigaki Family located in Ishigaki City. The Ishigaki Family is an old family that produced appointed officials sent to administer the Ohama Magiri region in the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Ohama Magiri region includes the central area of Ishigaki Island, the western area of Iriomote Island, and Hateruma Island. It is not clear when the garden was built. Based on the description of the garden’s design specification, called “Niwa-zukuri-fushin-sho” (庭作不審書), which was handed down in the Ishigaki Family, it is estimated to have been created around 1819. It is believed that the garden was designed by Peechin (rank order) Gusukuma, a gardener in Shuri, the same gardener who also designed the garden of Miyara Dunchi (the residence of the government official in charge of the Miyara District).
The garden is a Karesansui (dry landscape) garden that features Tsukiyama (artificial hills), five sets of stone arrangements that slope down from the north to south, a dry waterfall, and a stone bridge. The stone arrangements use Ryukyu limestones, natural stones that are locally produced. Plants native to the Yaeyama Islands, such as common garcinias (Garcinia subelliptica) and screw pines (Pandanus odorifer) are used in the plantings. The garden offers the atmosphere of a southern country. 

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