▣This post is still a work in progress.
In this post, I would like to mainly introduce two rikyu (離宮) in Kyoto, Katsura Imperial Villa (Katsura Rikyu) and Shugakuin Imperial Villa (Shugakuin Rikyu). A rikyu (literally, “detached palace”) is an imperial facility located outside the main Imperial Palace, but the name “rikyu” was not officially used for these facilities until after the Meiji Restoration. Before that, Kyoto’s imperial villas were called betsugyo or similar. Betsugyo (別業) is an old Japanese word meaning “ancient aristocratic villas.”
Katsura Imperial Villa
On a hot, sunny day in May, I took a guided tour of Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto Prefecture (in the Kinki Region). To book a tour of the Villa, you have to go through a few steps. This time, I didn’t book online but went directly to the Imperial Household Agency office in the Kyoto Imperial Palace in early May. There, I booked a tour scheduled to be conducted two weeks afterwards. It was worth the wait. (Of course, this place is well known worldwide, so it deviates slightly from the purpose of this website, which is to “introduce lesser-known places in Japan.” However, for various reasons, I cannot help but make an exception here.)
The eastern side of the villa grounds is surrounded by a unique bamboo fence called Katsura-gaki (桂垣), stretching for over 200 meters. Bamboos growing on the grounds are placed alive on top of the bamboo fence core and woven together with the leaves still attached. As you approach the main gate, the Katsura-gaki ends and a fence called Ho-gaki (穂垣) begins, which continues up to the side gate for general visitors. Ho-gaki is made of bamboo poles with the tops cut diagonally and arranged at equal intervals. There are no intimidating walls or other obstacles around the entrance, giving it a simple and clean feel.
Katsura Imperial Villa is in Katsura (the former ‘Katsura village’), Nishikyo-ku in Kyoto Prefecture. The area had been popular as a spot for moon-viewing long before the villa emerged here. And the place also has been closely related to Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) which is a work in the Heian Period (794-1185). Studies suggest that the origin of Katsura Imperial Villa dates back to the early 17th century. It was when Prince Hachijo-no-miya Toshihito, the younger brother of the emperor at the time, built a simple building that became the prototype for the current Koshoin (古書院) building. After Prince Toshihito’s death, his son Prince Toshitada built Chushoin (中書院), connected to Koshoin. The garden was then extensively developed, and by the middle of the 17th century, it developed almost to the point of its current state.
Prince Toshihito was taught waka poetry by Hosokawa Yusai from an early age and was well versed in Japanese classics such as the Manyoshu, Kokinshu, and Genji Monogatari. In the chapter “Matsukaze” in Genji Monogatari, there is a scene in which Hikaru Genji holds an elegant moonlit banquet at his villa, Katsura-den, which is said to have been modeled after the mansion (betsugyo) that Fujiwara no Michinaga, a contemporary of the author Lady Murasaki Shikibu, owned in Katsura at the time. Katsura Imperial Villa was also built in Katsura. So, Prince Toshihito may have been trying to recreate in Katsura Imperial Villa the world of imperial culture depicted in The Tale of Genji, where people compose waka poetry and hold drinking parties on boats floating on a pond while biwa and flutes are played.
The Chumon (中門) gate, the entrance to the Koshoin, is the last place visited on the Imperial Household Agency’s guided tour route, but during the Edo period, this was actually the official entrance to the Shoin complex. Passing under this gate, the stone path meanders at first. And then, it extends diagonally to the left toward the entrance of the Koshoin. This is where the noblemen used to get off the palanquin to enter the Koshoin. Even from here, we can’t see the inside of the building, nor can we get a good look at the other buildings or the garden. Near the Chumon gate there is a small pine tree called Sumiyoshi no Matsu (住吉の松). It is as if the pine tree prevents visitors from looking at the entire view of the garden. They say that this is part of the garden’s design, and it was planted in such a way that visitors could only get a full view of the stroll garden once they had entered the Koshoin.
At Katsura Imperial Villa, the buildings from the early Edo period still remain intact. And the ‘circuit style garden’ around the beautiful pond is considered to be one of the masterpieces of Japanese gardens.
Tsukimi-dai (月見台), with its surface consisting of thin bamboo sticks, is a moon-viewing veranda, and it juts out from the Koshoin. They say that from here one can enjoy the entire view of the Japanese garden and the Shokin-tei tea house on the other side of the pond. But it was too bad that the interior of the Koshoin was not on the itinerary of the guided tour. We couldn’t stand upon the tsukimi-dai to appreciate the view. There is a dock near the tsukimi-dai where noblemen used to ride in a boat. Apparently, this dock was designed so that passengers can get on and off the boat safely. If you look to the right from the dock, you can see the Onrindo beyond the azalea shrubberies, as well as the bridge leading up to the Shoka-tei.
Taking part in the guided tour at Katsura Imperial Villa was a pleasant experience. Being well-organized, we moved like a legion, sandwiched between the tour guide at the top and the imperial guard in the rear. We entered into the garden from the north-northeast side and trod the path toward the Shokin-tei tea house. We walked for a while through the woods, listening to the murmur of the brook. Then, suddenly a bleak landscape appeared. It is the Suhama (州浜) which consists only of stones, no plants. A stone lantern stands at the tip of the Suhama shore. It is said that this area represents the seascape, and that the stone lantern is likened to a lighthouse on a cape. Also, near the Suhama, there is a long, narrow piece of land stretching across the pond, connected by a stone bridge, which is said to represent Amanohashidate, a scenic spot facing the Sea of Japan.
Near the Suhama shore is a small hill surrounded by forest, where Manji-tei is located. It is a resting place for the guests of the tea ceremony. And it is famous for its unique formation of the four benches found there. Although this place is not on the itinerary of the guided tour, we can see the same formation of the benches in the waiting room of the villa’s office. Apparently, this was arranged so that guests did not have to sit facing each other, but the architect’s intentions remain a mystery. The final step to the Shokin-tei teahouse is across a large stone bridge, 6m long and 65cm wide. You may want to be careful not to fall.
Shokin-tei (松琴亭) is a thatched teahouse on the east bank of the pond and is the most prestigious of the four teahouses in Katsura Imperial Villa. This teahouse features a rich variety of designs throughout. In particular, the walls of the tokonoma alcove and the surfaces of the fusuma sliding doors are covered in a checkerboard pattern of alternating white and blue squares of Japanese washi paper, which is famous as a representative example of the innovative designs seen in Katsura Imperial Villa. Also, facing the pond is an area called kudo-gamae, which seems to be like a simple kitchen. “Kudo” refers to a traditional Japanese kamado cook stove, and while a kamado would normally be built quietly at the back of the house, here it is placed prominently at the front.
Photographs by Koji Ikuma.
