Suiren (swimming practice) at the Daisenzui (garden pond) in Koishikawa Korakuen Garden

Abstract

This study focuses on the Daisenzui (garden pond) in the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden and examines how it was used in the past. The garden at the Koishikawa residence of the Mito clan began to be created during the reign of Yorifusa Tokugawa (1603-1661) , the first lord of the domain, and was completed by Mitsukuni (1628-1701), the second. The Daisenzui was altered several times, including during the visit of Keishoin in 1702 during the reign of Tsunayoshi, the third lord of the Mito domain, and after the great earthquake of the following year. The origin of the Suifu-ryu style of swimming was the swimming at the Mito domain residence in Edo, and there is a record that Tsunayoshi observed the water skills of the domain's samurai at the residence of the Koishikawa.
Based on historical documents related to the Koishikawa Korakuen Daisenzui, water depth, pondside structure, etc. , this study examines whether the water training of clan members was performed, and considers the possibility that water training was performed in the late Edo period during the reign of Nariaki Tokugawa, the 9th lord of the Mito Tokugawa family, when the structural form was almost identical to that of the current Daisenzui.