A Research on an Act of Viewing in Koishikawa Koraku-en Garden's Early Days

Abstract

Former studies on Koishigawa Koraku-en garden have traced its historical transformation and have obtained good outcomes in investigating its design, and the arrangement and characteristic of its parts. However, these researches have been concentrated on the internal landscape of the garden and the examination of the idea aspect that it bears. The location of Koraku-en and the scenery viewing from the garden have rarely been discussed. Whether or not there is viewing scenery is not only a matter that concerns the appreciations of the garden but also exerts influences on the usage of the garden and the owner's view towards the garden. Without the elucidation of this issue, I suppose that on no account we could properly evaluate the structure and design of Koraku-en. Based on documentary records, especially historical sources written in Chinese, this study examines the location of Koraku-en and discusses whether or not there were acts of viewing towards the outside of the garden and intentional uses of borrowed scenery (Shakkei) in Koraku-en's early days.