Shukkei-en (縮景園) is a historic Japanese garden in the city of Hiroshima, Japan.
JAPAN

HIROSHIMA
& NAGASAKI

This is a stunning and tranquil place, full of beautiful trees and plants.
Many Japanese gardens are quite extraordinary, and this is one of them.
These photos were taken on 7th May, 2021 - a drab and rainy day unfortunately.
There are quite a lot of photos, but that's because the garden is worth it -
which is why they are best viewed on a large screen and not a mobile!

History: Construction began in 1620 during the Edo period at the order of Asano Nagaakira, daimyō of the Hiroshima han. Shukkei-en was constructed by Ueda Sōko, who served lord Asano as chief retainer (karō) of the domain and as a tea master.

Since the Meiji period, the garden served as the villa of the Asano family. When under Emperor Meiji the Imperial General Headquarters were relocated to Hiroshima, the emperor briefly lodged at the villa. The gardens were opened to the public, and in 1940 the Asano family donated them to Hiroshima Prefecture. Being a short walk from ground zero of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, Shukkei-en suffered extensive damage, and then became a refuge for victims of the war. After renovations, it reopened in 1951.

Shukkei-en is a traditional Japanese garden located in Naka ward in Hiroshima in Chugoku area. Inspired by the Chinese West Lake in Hangzhou, this green space is home to many maple trees making it a must-see during koyo season in Japan. Created in 1620 by Soko Ueda for feudal lord Nagaakira Asano, the garden was offered by the latter’s family to Hiroshima prefecture in 1940. Destroyed in 1945 by the atomic bombing, Shukkei-en nonetheless reopened to the public in 1951.

Located between Hiroshima museum of arts and Kyobashi river, not far from the castle , this little piece of nature is an invitation to contemplation. The garden’s main entrance is to be found after a walk along the museum on the street perpendicular to the tramway and turning on the left. Its gate is guarded by two magnificent bonsai, offered to visitors’ admiration.

A wide path opens, along which stand a café and a souvenir shop, and at its end a classical tea house, whose background is formed by the garden. Its vegetal architecture is built around a wonderful pond that made the place’s reputation. Shukkei-en can translate into "the Shrunken-Scenery Garden". The walk winds through several different miniaturized landscapes, among which visitors feel like they are wearing the seven-league boots, as they cross from a valley to another in less than one hour.

All the views on the park share a common place: the Koko-kyo Bridge, the symbol of the place. The bridge appears like a granite rainbow that divides the main pond from north to south. This pond shelters hundreds of multicolor koi carps, which indeed look wonderful, but eagerly gather at each passerby to collect any bit of food, like aquatic pigeons. The visit continues at the bottom of the valleys where is growing the medicinal plant garden Yakuso-en, surrounded by bamboos. Then the visit course ends back at the entrance, where the two bonsai, sturdy and firm like Welsh guards, have not moved an inch.