What Is the Zaima Family Garden?
The Zaima Family Garden (財間氏庭園, Zaima-shi Teien) is a Meiji-period townhouse garden at the Zaima Family Residence in Ushiroda, Tsuwano Town, Shimane Prefecture, thought to have taken shape when the main house was built in 1899, and registered as a Registered Monument (Place of Scenic Beauty) of Japan on August 1, 2013.
It lies within the Zaima Family Residence on Honmachi-dori and has two parts: a small forecourt inside the main gate, and a main garden to the east of the inner parlor and the Buddhist altar room. The Tsuwano board of education lists its address as Ushiroda Ha 38 and its owner as private. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives no area for it.
Why the Zaima Family Garden Was Registered
The Agency for Cultural Affairs explains that many gardens were made at townhouses in the former castle town of the Tsuwano domain after the Meiji Restoration. They were the home gardens of townspeople who prospered in trade, weaving and papermaking, and about 20 survive. The Zaima Family Garden is one of them, a back garden of a town residence, registered as a meaningful example of how garden culture developed in modern Tsuwano.
The same description places the Zaima house at the south end of Honmachi-dori, on the corner where the street changes its name to Tonomachi-dori, on the west side of the block. In the Edo period this was the site of a public notice board; it was taken up for townhouses only after the Meiji Restoration. The Zaima Family Garden grew up together with the house that replaced it.
Inside the Zaima Family Garden
The forecourt
Through the front gate on Honmachi-dori (the Zaima Family Residence Main Gate) is a small forecourt where large stones are set around a lantern and a single pine. A garden gate leads from it to a second small garden in front of the storehouse to the north.
The main garden
The main garden fills a space enclosed by a covered corridor to a detached room on the north, and by the bath wing and another corridor on the southeast and south. Near the eaves are two small, basin-like ponds, and garden rocks, lanterns and a tsukubai water basin are set among a circuit of stepping stones.
From the shoe-removal stone at the inner parlor, stepping stones lead deeper into the garden and loop around two artificial mounds linked by a stone bridge. On top of the farthest mound stand a Kasuga-style stone lantern and several upright stones. The Agency describes this mound as a relay point for the eye: seen from the parlor, the line of stepping stones carries the view up to the mound and on to Mount Aono beyond the garden wall.
Seeing the Zaima Family Garden
The Zaima Family Garden is the back garden of a private home and is not open to the public. Neither the Tsuwano board of education's cultural property portal nor the Tsuwano Tourism Association lists any opening days (checked October 1, 2026). Because the main garden is enclosed by buildings and corridors, you should not expect to see it from Honmachi-dori. Directions are on the page for the Zaima Family Residence.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Zaima Family Garden
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Q&A
- When was the Zaima Family Garden made?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, its original form is thought to date from 1899, when the present main house of the Zaima family was built.
- When was the Zaima Family Garden registered?
- On August 1, 2013, as a Registered Monument (Place of Scenic Beauty).
- What does the Zaima Family Garden consist of?
- A small forecourt inside the main gate and a main garden east of the inner parlor, with two small ponds, lanterns, a tsukubai basin, stepping stones and two mounds linked by a stone bridge.
- What is the highlight of the Zaima Family Garden?
- The farthest mound, topped by a Kasuga-style lantern and upright stones, which relays the view from the parlor along the stepping stones to Mount Aono.
- Can I visit the Zaima Family Garden?
- No. It is the back garden of a private home and no opening days are announced.
Basic Information
| Name | Zaima Family Garden |
|---|---|
| Location | Tsuwano Town, Kanoashi District, Shimane Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Monument (Place of Scenic Beauty) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2013 |
| Quantity | 1 site |
| Dimensions | Unknown (no area recorded in the ACA database) |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Zaima Family Garden (in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/411/00003809
- Cultural Heritage Online: Zaima Garden (in Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/259342
- Tsuwano Culture Portal (Tsuwano Board of Education): Cultural Properties (in Japanese)
- https://tsuwano-bunka.net/cultural-property/
Last verified: 2026.10.01
