「岡山後楽園」 岡山県 / “Okayama Korakuen” Okayama Pref

「岡山後楽園」 岡山県

江戸時代の大名庭園、金沢の兼六園・水戸の偕楽園と並んで日本三名園と称される。岡山藩二代藩主・池田綱政が家臣・津田永忠に命じ1687年に着工1700年に完成、その後も藩主ごとに手が加えられた。南に岡山城天守閣を臨む。園の敷地は13.3ha（東京ドーム2.8個分）に及ぶ。園の中心に広大な芝生の広場（江戸時代は畑だった）と大きな「沢の池」があり、園内を流れる曲水が中小の池や茶室と藩主が居間として使用した「延養亭」や能舞台などの建物群（通常非公開）そして馬場などを結んでいる。第３代藩主・継政の時代に加えられた築山・唯心山（高さ6m)に登ると園内を一望でき、その麓には建物の中を水が流れそのなかに異なる色の石を一直線に据えた「流店」や菖蒲池、自ら能を舞い領民に見せることもあった綱政らしい「伊勢物語」にちなんだ八つ橋を架けたカキツバタ池などもある。また園内で戦災を免れた数少ない建物「廉池軒（れんちけん）」は綱政公も好んで利用したという古い建物にも関わらず希望者には貸し出し可。グループ旅行などの休息所として借りることもできる。園内ではツバキ・梅・桜・ツツジ・皐月・花菖蒲・ハス・紅葉などが季節ごとに見られる。

◼︎名称：「後楽園」

◼︎住所：岡山県岡山市北区後楽園1-5

◼︎TEL: 086-272-1147

◼︎営業時間：3月20〜9月30（AM 7:30~PM 6:00)、 10月1日〜 3月19日（AM 8:00~PM 5:00)

◼︎駐車場：有（有料）

◼︎アクセス： JR岡山駅からバスで約10分

“Okayama Korakuen” Okayama Prefecture

Okayama Korakuen is a feudal lord's garden from the Edo period. It is known as one of the "Three Great Gardens of Japan," along with Kanazawa's Kenrokuen and Mito's Kairakuen.

Construction began in 1687 under the orders of Ikeda Tsunamasa, the second lord of the Okayama domain, and was completed in 1700. Each lord added to the garden after that. It overlooks Okayama Castle's Tensyukaku to the south.

The garden covers an area of ​​13.3ha (2.8 times the size of the Tokyo Dome). In the center of the garden is a vast green lawn and a large pond, and a small stream flows through the garden, connecting small and medium ponds, a group of buildings (usually closed to the public) including a teahouse, the "Enyotei" used as the lord's living room, and a Noh stage, as well as a horse riding ground.

You can get a panoramic view of the garden by climbing Tsukiyama (an artificial hill) and Yuishinzan (6m high), which were added during the reign of the third feudal lord, Tsugumasa. At the foot of the hill, there is Ryuten, a building with different colored stones arranged in a straight line, a Shobu Pond, and Iris Pond, which has a Yatsuhashi wooden bridge built over it, named after the Noh play "The Tales of Ise," which is typical of Tsugumasa, who would sometimes perform Noh plays for his subjects.

Renchiken, one of the few houses in the park that survived the war, is available for rent to those who wish, despite being an old building that Tsunamasa also liked to use. It can also be rented as a resting place for group trips. In the park, you can see various flowers such as camellias, plums, cherry blossoms, azaleas, irises, and lotus flowers according to the season. Of course, you can also see autumn leaves in the fall.

◼︎Name: "Okayama Korakuen"

◼︎Address: 1-5 Korakuen, Kita-ku, Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture

◼︎TEL: 086-272-1147

◼︎Business hours: March 20th to September 30th (7:30am to 6:00pm), October 1st to March 19th (8:00am to 5:00pm)

◼︎Parking: Available (paid)

◼︎Access: About 10 minutes by bus from JR Okayama Station