▣This post is still a work in progress.
In this post, I would like to mainly introduce two rikyu (離宮) in Kyoto, Katsura Rikyu (Katsura Imperial Villa) and Shugakuin Rikyu (Shugakuin Imperial Villa). 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 (Katsura Rikyu) 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 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 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 the Tale of Genji. In the chapter “Matsukaze” in The Tale of Genji, there is a scene in which Hikaru Genji holds an elegant moonlit banquet at his villa, Katsura Palace, which is said to have been modeled after the villa (betsugyo) that Fujiwara no Michinaga, a contemporary of the author Murasaki Shikibu, owned in Katsura at the time. Katsura Imperial Villa was built on the site of Michinaga’s villa. 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 a place that is visited later in the guided tour organized by the Imperial Household Agency, but it is 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, as the shrubberies obstruct the view. Near the Chumon gate there is a small pine tree called Sumiyoshi no Matsu. 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 pond 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. This dock is said to have been 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 shore which consists only of stones, no plants. A stone lantern stands at the tip of the Suhama. 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.
As we get closer to the Shokin-tei tea house, we can see the Manji-tei rest house on a small hill on our left side. 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. They say that the benches are arranged like this so that the guests don’t need to sit face to face. But it seems the true intention of the creator is still a mystery. The final step to reach the Shokin-tei tea house is the crossing of the large stone bridge. People may have to be careful not to fall off.
Photographs by Koji Ikuma.
