作庭は「山田徳蔵」と日本建築の大家「金子清吉」、造園は明治神宮庭園にも関わった「二代目後藤石水」によるものです
群馬の銘石である三波石の巨石群と浅間山から貨車で運ばれた多量の溶岩、自生の赤松や新潟の黒松、紅葉とともに様々な季節の植物に心癒される庭園です
庭園は「浦島の池」を中心とした池泉回遊に加え枯山水、石庭、苔庭の４つのエリアからなり、冬の厳かな石庭、初春の躑躅や山桜、輝かしい新緑と水芭蕉、初夏の紫陽花と青紅葉、秋の紅葉など、四季折々の表情をお楽しみ頂けます
特に秋の紅葉シーズンには、沢山の方々にご来園いただいており紅葉をライトアップした荘厳な眺めは一見の価値があります
The garden was created by Tokuzo Yamada and
Japanese architecture expert Seikichi
Kaneko,
and is maintained by Sekisui Goto II, who
has
also worked on the Meiji Shrine Inner
Garden.
Made with Sanbaseki stone from Gunma
Prefecture and lava that was transported
from
Mount Asama, visitors to this garden will be
soothed by the naturally growing red pines,
black pines, maples, and other plants of all
four seasons.
The garden is made up of four areas: the
lake
garden(Chisen kaiyu), the zen garden(Kare
sansui), the rock garden(Seki tei), and the
moss garden(Koke niwa). Visitors can enjoy
the
changing beauty of the gardens throughout
the
seasons: the majesty of the rock garden in
winter, the azaleas and mountain cherry
trees
at the start of spring, the bright fresh
green
leaves and white skunk cabbage flowers, the
hydrangeas and green maple leaves in early
summer, and the red autumn leaves. The
season
of autumn leaves in particular attracts a
lot
of people, and the sight of the illuminated
red leaves is definitely worth a visit.
園内各所には、稀有の名工「楽山」による楽しい作品がいくつも配置されております。池の中央の苔生した「浦島太郎」像は楽山の生涯における名作の一つと云われる作品です
池の周りを回遊散策頂くと滝見観音が現れます。水が流れ落ちる滝横の岩上の観音像は、楽山の制作した第一号の作品です
洞窟観音の作品群の特徴として、纏う衣の優雅さや像全体のバランスが現代的で洗練されている事が挙げられますが、こちらの作品は、大きすぎる手や足と三頭身が最大の特徴!?と言える愛らしい観音様です。滝見観音前の三途の川を渡り小さな洞窟を潜ると閻魔大王と鬼が酒を飲んで笑っております。商人「山田徳蔵」ならではの遊び心と世界観が楽山の石彫師としての稀有の才能によって園全体に彩りを放っています
Scattered around the garden are several fun
statues created by renowned sculptor
Rakuzan.
The mossy Urashima Taro statue in the middle
of the lake is said to be one of the best
works of Rakuzan’s career.
If you walk around the lake, you will see a
depiction of Takimi Kannon (Kannon watching
a
waterfall). The statue of Kannon on the
rocks
by the flowing waterfall was the first piece
created by Rakuzan. The elegance of Kannon’s
clothing and the modern, refined overall
balance of the statues are often cited as
characteristics of the Doukutsu Kannon
pieces,
but you could easily say that the most
prominent aspects of this cute Kannon statue
are the big hands and head. When you cross
the
Sanzu River in front of the Takimi Kannon
and
go through a small cave, you see Yama and
demons drinking sake and laughing. The
worldview and playful spirit of the merchant
Tokuzo Yamada combine with the rare talent
of
the sculptor Rakuzan to bring color and life
to the garden.
