RIKYU GARDEN, Rikyu Garden

Hi, my name’s Marcy, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: Kyū Shiba Rikyū, the most beautiful garden in Tokyo.

The Kyū Shiba Rikyū Garden is one of only two gardens dating to the Edo Period to have survived in modern-day Tokyo, and it is a truly unique spectacle. 

The site, originally part of Tokyo Bay, was reclaimed between 1655 and 1658. In 1678, the samurai-style residence of a member of the Ōkubo clan was built here, and the garden was designed by the finest landscape architects of the time, including a beach looking onto the bay.   

The residence was purchased in 1875 by the Imperial Household Agency, and became one of the emperor’s villas.

Unfortunately, all the buildings and trees in the garden were destroyed by a fire during the Great Kantō earthquake....