Takamatsu Ritsurin Park is a daimio garden whose type is a way of excursion among ponds. It is composed of two gardens as south garden and north garden and with Mt. Shiun for a background to the west. It has an area of 230,000 tsubos and it is supposed that it was built at the first year of the time of the Kanei era, the 3rd Shogun Iemitsu Tokugawa.
Even if we saw from whichever direction from whichever point, everything of what we saw became a scene, really did I feel. This park is full of the element of scene. It is said that there was big Ritsurin, that is, chesnut trees at north garden before, but are many pine trees now.
Seeing guidance map I walked along the south garden with Kaede-gishi (means maple-shore).
Entering from the east gate entrance (left of the lower photograph), passing Mingeikan (a folk craft hall) and a commerce-and-industry hall, Tsuru-kame (crane & tortoise) pine tree, Neagari (root rising) oak, the Bairin (plum trees) Bridge, Higurashi-tei (twilight arbor), I walked along Sai-ko (west lake) and Kansui-pond and reached Kikugetsu-tei.
The rock garden at Kansui-pond is shown (upper right of the following photograph). Turning to the south and going to Kaede-gishi, the East-side room of Kikugetsu-tei is visible beyond Nan-ko (south lake) against the background of Mt. Shiun to left-hand side (lower right of the following photograph).
This walking road leads to Fukiage-tei via Kaede-gishi. When I came up to this arbor I felt like resting for a while truly. The upper one of the following photographs shows the Engetsu bridge. The mountain of a background is Mt. Shiun. The lower photograph shows that from the Engetsu Bridge can we see Kikugetu-tei, Nan-ko (south lake) and little islands against Mt. Shiun.
