View source for Isui-en

{{Short description|Meiji era garden in Nara, Japan}}
[[File:Isuien and Nandaimon.JPG|thumb|View of Isui-en Garden during early fall, towards the ''Nandaimon'' gate, and hills of Nara]]
[[File:Isuien Nara21nt3200.jpg|thumb|One of the tea houses]]
[[File:Yoshikien garden in nara japan stones.jpg|thumb|A path through the garden moss]]
{{Nihongo|'''Isui-en'''|依水園|Isuien}} is a  [[Japanese garden]] located in [[Nara, Nara|Nara]], the old capital of [[Japan]] near [[Kyōto]].  It has been preserved since its creation in the [[Meiji era]], and is the only walking garden (''kaiyushiki teien'') in Nara.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/nara/neiraku.html|title=Neiraku Museum and Isuien Garden|publisher=Yamasa Institute|accessdate=2008-10-19|archive-date=2009-03-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309082237/http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/nara/neiraku.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is divided into two sections, which were originally two separate gardens, and each features a [[pagoda]].
==History==
The site of the western garden originally formed part of Manishu-in, a minor temple which was part of the larger temple of [[Kofuku-ji]]. The ground was bought in the 1670, during the [[Enpō]] era by Kiyosumi Michikiyo, a wealthy tanner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jgarden.org/gardens.asp?ID=10|title=Isuien|publisher=Jgardens.org|accessdate=2008-10-19|archive-date=2007-10-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013165642/http://www.jgarden.org/gardens.asp?ID=10|url-status=dead}}</ref> He restructured the gardens between 1673 and 1681 and built two houses: the Sanshu-tei and Tei-shu-Ken, as the family home.  These were built with thatched roofs. The name Sanshu-tei ("house of the three wonders") was given by [[Mokuan]], the large priest of the [[Manpuku-ji]] temple of the school Zen [[Ōbaku|Oubaku]] with [[Uji, Kyoto|Uji]].
The larger eastern garden dates from 1899 and was designed by Seki Tojiro, a Nara businessman.<ref>Mansfield. Page 135</ref> Tojiro hired for the redesign [[Horitoku]], a garden architect from the school of [[Urasenke]].
In 1939, the two gardens were bought and combined by Jyunsaku Nakamura, a merchant of Nara, to provide a site for the attached [[Neiraku Museum]] ({{lang|ja|寧楽美術館}}), which hosts a collection of traditional Japanese ceramics.
==Layout==
The gardens cover roughly {{convert|145000|sqft|m2}}.
In the central pond of the gardens, there are two islands with sculptures of a [[Crane (bird)|crane]] and [[tortoise]]. In Japanese culture these animals represent longevity.
The house of the Hyoshin-tei, along with the west pool, were designed by Kimura Seibei, another garden architect from Urasenke. It allows access of the house by using a technique called ''[[shakkei]]'', or "borrowed landscape." The composition of the landscape incorporates the roof of the large southern door (Nandaimon) of the temple [[Tōdai-ji]], as well as the three higher hills overhanging Nara: the mounts Wakakusa, Kasuga, and Mikasa. It is framed by the trees of the Himuro sanctuary in the south, and the Tōdai-ji temple in the north. These make the space between the garden and background seem to disappear, producing a continuity which makes the landscape blend in visual harmony. This harmony is reinforced by the absence of any artificial enclosure.
The shape of the pond represents the shape of the [[kanji]] [[水]] character for ''mizu'' (“water”). A central island is connected to the bank by a series of stepping stones, which were formerly used to grind the pigments used in [[dyeing]]. The garden also contains decorative stones, which were popular during the [[Meiji era]]. The water is fed by the [[Yosiki river]], which flows adjacent to the garden.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cis.doshisha.ac.jp/kkitao/Japan/Nara/nara/north/north.htm|title=(Last updated at01/07/2006 18:50:09) Nara City|publisher=Doshisha university|accessdate=2008-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507175742/http://www.cis.doshisha.ac.jp/kkitao/Japan/Nara/nara/north/north.htm|archive-date=2009-05-07|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
*{{cite book | author = Mansfield, Stephen  |title = Japan's Master Gardens  - Lessons in Space and Environment | location = Tokyo, Rutland, Singapore | publisher = [[Tuttle Publishing|Tuttle]]| year = 2011 | type = Hardback| isbn=978-4-8053-1128-8}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline|Isuien}}
* [http://www.isuien.or.jp/ Homepage of Isuien]
* [https://visitnara.jp/venues/A00493/ Isuien Garden, from The Official Nara Travel Guide]
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[[Category:Gardens in Nara Prefecture]]
[[Category:Japanese strolling gardens]]
[[Category:Nara, Nara]]
[[Category:Places of Scenic Beauty]]