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Shōsei-en

渉成園Shimogyo, Kyoto

Garden

What makes this place special?

At a Glance

Shosei-en is a garden in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, and a detached precinct of the temple Higashi Honganji, lying about 150 metres east of the main temple. It was built in the mid-seventeenth century as a retirement residence for the temple's abbots, on land that the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu had donated in 1641. The thirteenth abbot, Sennyo, retired here in 1653 and named the garden after a line in a poem by the Chinese poet Tao Yuanming.

The stroll garden covers about 3.4 hectares, and its large pond, Ingetsu-ike, takes up about a sixth of the grounds. Paths lead around the water to teahouses, a main hall and the Onrindo hall. The garden is also called Kikokutei, after the trifoliate orange hedge once planted around it. The buildings burned in 1858 and 1864 and were rebuilt from 1865, and the garden is a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty.

Goshuin within a short walk

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Goshuin of Ichihime Jinja

Ichihime Jinja

Shrine • 320m • 4 min walk

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How do I visit?

Visit Duration

60 minutes

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