Kenrokuen (兼六園)

Kenrokuen (兼六園) in Kanazawa is justifiably classified as one of Japan's "three most beautiful landscape gardens" alongside Mito's Kairakuen and Okayama's Korakuen. The spacious grounds used to be the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle and were constructed by the ruling Maeda family over a period of nearly two centuries. Opened to the public in 1871, Kenrokuen features a variety of flowering trees which provide the garden with a different look for each season.

The name Kenrokuen literally means "Garden of the Six Sublimities", referring to spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, antiquity, abundant water and broad views, which according to Chinese landscape theory are the six essential attributes that make up a perfect garden. A stroll around Kenrokuen will help with understanding this landscape theory as the grounds are teeming with water features, bridges, teahouses, trees, flowers, stones, viewpoints and hidden nooks to discover.

Water is diverted from a distant river by a sophisticated water system constructed in 1632 to feed Kenrokuen's various streams and ponds including the two main ponds in the garden, Kasumigaike and Hisagoike. The over two-meter tall Kotojitoro Lantern, uniquely built with two legs instead of one, stands at the northern bank of Kasumigaike Pond and is an iconic symbol of Kenrokuen. In addition, a fountain below Kasumigaike Pond is one of Japan's oldest, and is powered by the drop in elevation from the pond which causes water to shoot out 3.5 meters high. Meanwhile, nearby Hisagoike Pond features a small waterfall.

Photos:

"131109 Kenrokuen Kanazawa Ishikawa pref Japan01s3" by 663highland. Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:131109_Kenrokuen_Kanazawa_Ishikawa_pref_Japan01s3.jpg#/media/File:131109_Kenrokuen_Kanazawa_Ishikawa_pref_Japan01s3.jpg

"Fountain Kenrokuen Garden Kanazawa Japan" by Original uploader was Jovandavid at en.wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fountain_Kenrokuen_Garden_Kanazawa_Japan.JPG#/media/File:Fountain_Kenrokuen_Garden_Kanazawa_Japan.JPG

"Kenrokuen1" by Rei at en.wikipedia - Own workTransferred from en.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kenrokuen1.jpg#/media/File:Kenrokuen1.jpg

"Kenroku-en-winter-lantern" by tab2_dawa - originally posted to Flickr as kenroku-yen. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kenroku-en-winter-lantern.jpg#/media/File:Kenroku-en-winter-lantern.jpg