Kōfū-en, Japanese strolling garden in Sakaide, Japan.
Kōfū-en is a Japanese strolling garden in Sakaide featuring traditional design elements such as stone lanterns, arched bridges, and arranged vegetation. Pathways wind through naturalistic landscapes with small streams, quiet ponds, and varied tree areas that together form a balanced composition.
The garden was commissioned in 1911 by Kamata Katsutaro during a period when wealthy individuals created such spaces for leisure and reflection. The grounds have preserved their original layout and demonstrate early 20th-century landscape design practices.
The garden showcases traditional Japanese design principles that visitors experience while walking: small islands, stone bridges, and carefully positioned plants create moments for reflection. This approach to landscaping helps visitors appreciate nature as it has been deliberately presented and composed.
The garden is open most days except Mondays and is easily reached on foot. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes, as pathways feature various elevations and surfaces throughout the grounds.
The grounds deliberately blend Japanese landscape tradition with Western garden concepts, most visible in expansive lawn areas alongside traditional hedges and trees. This combination shows how Japanese gardens experimented with European ideas during the nation's modernization period.
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