The Momiji Diaries – Part 7 – Matsue, Yuushi-en
by Jade Pavilions on 16/07/09 at 9:53 pm
13th November, Matsue, Shimane Province
After exploring Matsue (the water city), known for it’s rivers and canals, the night before, we took an early morning bus to Daikon-shima island to see the garden of Yuushi-en. Daikon-shima is an ancient collapsed caldera with rich soils, renowned for it’s ginseng and peonies. Here they grow many varieties, some of which are in flower the year round. Despite the winter snows, the peonies still flower under rice straw “hats”. There is a large pond with islands and hills in what was flat fertile fields with many excellent manicured pine trees. We strolled around these extensive modern gardens with several substantial waterfalls, streams, ravines, marshy iris beds and a peony house. So meticulous is the design we witnessed a pine tree being moved but a mere 5º in tilt and another few degrees of twist to get the presentation just right. The dry landscape garden is excellent. A truly fabulous garden, meticulously kept but able to engage with the garden rather than just look at it. One of the best of the whole tour.
We returned to Matsue for lunch and to enjoy some of the local attractions in town, calling in at the small Mafu shrine en route to Matsue castle, one of the 12 remaining castles, built much about the same time as Himeji it is the second largest but clad in waterproof timbers, painted black. The picture shows some of the anti-siege weaponry. The ridge ends of the upper storey watch tower are finished with bronze shachi-hoko – imaginary sea animal with a body of a fish but the head of a tiger, similar to that at Himeji castle.
Walking through the castle grounds the back entrance leads to Lafcadio Hearn’s residence and museum. Lafcadio Hearn was an Irish Chronicler and writer who lived in Japan at the turn of the 20th century, whose many books confirmed him as the leading interpreter of Japanese culture of his time. His modest house has a charming garden viewed from the engawa and the adjacent museum houses many artefacts and personal effects. A little further along the road is a traditional Buke Yashiki style house of a middle ranking samurai family, the Shiomi family, one of the chief retainers of the Matsudaira clan who ruled this province. The property includes a front gate with servants quarters and palaquin barn with the main house displaying weapons and utensils used in feudal times. The picture shows the tea room and the room for keeping kitchen utensils to the left.
As it was getting late in the afternoon we rushed off across town to Kishikoen park to watch the setting sun over the pine clad island some distance from the shore (along with hundreds of other more expensive cameras).
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