The small Gakkinoma (Music Room) is interposed between the latter two.
The linked Shoin buildings are related to each other in a stepping composition known as ganko (flying geese), enhancing natural light and ventilation inside each one.
Made of bamboo, the tsukimidai (moon-viewing platform) projects from the large veranda of the Koshoin and gives a superb overview of the garden.
The east entrance to the veranda of the Koshoin, from which the tsukimidai extends toward the pond.
The interior of Shokintei (Pine Lute Pavilion), the first tea house encountered when circumnavigating the Katsura grounds. The tea preparation area is visible on the veranda beyond.
Shokintei is first seen across a stone slab bridge linking two islands in the pond, designed to evoke Amanohashidate, a famous scenic spot on the Japan Sea coast.
The middle room of the oldest tea house at Katsura, Gepparo (Moon Wave Lookout), so named because its elevated location provides a view of the moon’s reflection in the pond.
The tea preparation area on the veranda of Shokintei, containing a water basin, a hearth for heating water, and a shelf for tea utensils, all screened by a low wall of woven reeds.
A glimpse of the famous indigo-and-white checkered pattern in the tokonoma of Shokintei..
Shokatei (Prize Flower Pavilion) tea house has a raised floor comprising four tatami mats set in a U shape. There is a hearth for boiling water in the foreground and chigaidana (staggered shelves) for tea utensils to the rear.
Stone paths lead up to Shokatei, which is located at the highest point in the garden.
The entrance courtyard of the Koshoin contains an interesting combination of regular and irregular stepping stones. To the left is a stone lantern designed in the style of tea master Furuta Oribe (1543–1615).
The rectangular strip of ishidatami stepping stones set adjacent to Sotoshikoshikake (Waiting Bench), where visitors would pause while the host was preparing tea.
A tsuchibei fence on the perimeter of the villas grounds, surfaced in richly colored natural clay and capped with thatch held in place by pieces of bamboo.
The entrance room and middle room of Shoiken (Laughing Mind Hut), divided by fusuma panels. The rear garden is visible through a large window, the lower sill of which is covered by a gilded velvet drape.
A fence made of spicebush branches supported by horizontal bamboo poles extends from the Chumon (Central Gate), formerly known as the Onarikaya (Imperial Gate).
Shugakuin Imperial Villa
LOCATION SAKYO-KU
ESTABLISHED IN 1659
BUILT FOR RETIRED EMPEROR GO-MIZUNOO
Shugakuin Imperial Villa stands within the magnificent natural landscape of the foothills of the Higashiyama mountains, and was built as a retreat for Retired Emperor Go-Mizunoo (1596–1680). The site had been previously occupied by a Buddhist convent called Ensho-ji, in which Go-Mizunoo’s eldest daughter, Bunchi, lived as a nun. Go-Mizunoo was so impressed by the surroundings that he had Ensho-ji and its inhabitants relocated to Nara Province in order to build the villa. The original buildings and gardens were probably designed by Go-Mizunoo himself— the apocryphal story is that he would give instructions to the artisans by disguising himself as a maidservant and traveling to the construction site in a palanquin.
Shugakuin Imperial Villa comprises three independent gardens set at different elevations on the slopes, linked by long paths lined with pine trees to screen them from the surrounding rice fields and farmers. These three areas are known as the Shimo no Ochaya (lower tea house), Naka no Ochaya (middle tea house), and Kami no Ochaya (upper tea house). Each contains one or two small sukiya -style pavilions. The upper garden is dominated by an artificial lake called Yokuryu-chi (Pond of the Bathing Dragon), overlooked by the Rin’untei (Pavilion Next to the Clouds). The two larger islands in the lake are linked by three bridges made of wood, earth, and stone respectively. The Kyusuitei (Distant Pavilion) located on one of the islands is the only original structure. The villa in the middle garden was originally built for Go-Mizunoo’s eighth daughter, Genyo. After his death she became a nun and converted it into a temple called Rinkyu-ji. In 1885 this became part of Shugakuin Imperial Villa proper.
Forming an extensive, panoramic kaiyushiki teien (stroll garden), Shugakuin Imperial Villa has an equally spectacular backdrop. The design makes full use of shakkei (borrowed scenery), a Japanese landscape gardening technique that involves visually incorporating distant elements from the surrounding landscape while screening the immediate neighborhood from view. Mountains, forests, rice fields, and waterfalls are thus drawn into an extraordinarily beautiful and somewhat surreal microcosm.
Miyukimon (a gate for the exclusive use of the Emperor), the entrance to the Shimo no Ochaya (lower tea house) area.
The path leading past Jugetsukan, the elegant villa in the Shimo no Ochaya area.
The villa is surrounded by a small garden containing a pond and stream fed by rainwater from Mount Hiei.
Built in the nineteenth century, this is a replica of the original Jugetsukan. The various paintings inside are attributed to the artists Kishi Ganku (1756–1839) and Okamoto Toyohiko (1773–1845).
Built around 1668, Rakushiken was the original residence of Princess Genyo, the eighth daughter of Retired Emperor Go-Mizunoo.
Flexible interior spaces at Rakushiken are enabled by sliding fusuma panels.
The veranda around Kyakuden in the Naka no Ochaya area. Relocated from the Nyoin Palace in 1682, Kyakuden was used as a new residence by Princess Genyo.
The south face of Kyakuden. On the right a small flight of stone steps leads up the hill.
