A study on the Garden of Shigemori Mirei in Nishiyama House

Abstract

Mirei Shigemori is a person who has left a great footprint in the history of modern Japanese gardens. In this article, we discussed the value of his garden built in Toyonaka Osaka, which the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology proposed as a national scenic spot in June 2019. First of all, this garden is worth having abundant materials. We compared the Mirei Shigemori's blueprints with the current situation in the garden and analyzed them by referring to materials such as “Rinsen” and other documents. Also we had hearing survey to the present owner and the gardener. As a result, gardens were constructed in modern suburban residential areas around Osaka and Kobe, and the close relationship between the garden and architecture as well as the owner and gardener could be verified. It was also understood that the garden was influenced by the owner's wishes and restrictions on site conditions, but it still revealed the unique personality of Mirei Shigemori as his early garden. Many kindes of stones and plants were used to express Mirei Shigemori's idea. In this way, we were able to understand the gardening process and its characteristics established in the early works of Mirei Shigemori in 1940.