A Plant Collector's Garden on the Tokaido
The Taishoen Garden (帯笑園, Taishoen) is the garden handed down by the Uematsu family from the late Edo period to the early Showa years beside the old Tokaido highway at Hara, Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, which in 2012 was registered as a Registered Monument (place of scenic beauty).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Uematsu family garden as a place where court nobles and feudal lords travelling the Tokaido stopped, and where literature and culture around flowers were exchanged.
The Agency values it as a symbol of the gardening craze of the late Edo and modern periods and as a rare survival of a garden built around flower beds.
History
Numazu City says the name Taishoen was given in 1791 by the Confucian scholar Kaiho Seiryo, and a wooden name board in the hand of the gunnery master Takashima Shuhan survives.
Because it faced the Tokaido, the garden was visited and praised by lords and commoners in the Edo period and by politicians and soldiers after the Meiji Restoration. Philipp Franz von Siebold, who came in 1826, wrote in his account of his journey to Edo that it was the most beautiful garden he had seen in Japan and the richest in ornamental plants.
Documents and paintings kept by the Uematsu family show that the garden also served as a meeting point for the cultures of Edo and Kamigata.
What to Look For
Numazu City explains that the Taishoen Garden was unlike an ordinary garden: it displayed a collection of rare plants and even had a greenhouse, so that plants could be viewed at their best, much like a botanical garden.
Successive heads of the family built a tea room called Bogakutei at the centre of the garden to enjoy the view of Mount Fuji and the garden. Only its stepping stone now remains.
As a garden of plants, few of its original elements survive, but many records remain, including visitors' books, paintings sent in thanks and documents on the care and arrangement of the plants.
Visiting the Taishoen Garden
According to Numazu City, the garden opens on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed from 29 December to 3 January. Groups may be admitted at other times by arrangement.
Enquiries go to the Numazu City cultural properties centre, 055-935-5010.
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Q&A
- When was the Taishoen Garden registered?
- It was registered as a Registered Monument (place of scenic beauty) on 19 September 2012.
- How is 帯笑園 read?
- Taishoen.
- Who named the Taishoen Garden?
- The Confucian scholar Kaiho Seiryo, in 1791, according to Numazu City.
- What kind of garden was the Taishoen Garden?
- A garden of rare plants with a greenhouse, much like a botanical garden.
- When is the Taishoen Garden open?
- On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Basic Information
| Name | Taishoen Garden (帯笑園) |
|---|---|
| Location | Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Monument (place of scenic beauty) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2012/9/19 (Heisei 24) |
| Quantity | Not recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Dimensions | Not recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Owner | Not recorded in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Open Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Taishoen Garden (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/411/00003773
- Cultural Heritage Online: Taishoen Garden (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/207097
- Numazu City: Taishoen Garden (Japanese)
- https://www.city.numazu.shizuoka.jp/shisei/profile/bunkazai/toukai/taishouen.htm
Last verified: 2026.09.28