An Introduction toToyamasō Garden
The garden of Toyamasō occupied more than 80% of the large
grounds (about 448,800 square meters) of this shimoyashiki,
the suburban residence of a daimyo (feudal lord). The garden
originally had many eye-catching features built into it, such as apond, rock gardens, hills, crop fields, gorges, waterfalls, teashops, shrines and temples. Particularly famous was Omachiya,
which was a life-size replica of a block of houses in the post-station town of Odawarajuku.
Stylistically, the garden is classified as a daimyo garden in thechisen kaiyu (pond stroll) style. It is atypical, however, in thatits large pond does not have a prominent central island, which
was normally the focal point of such a pond. A grand pond as
seen in this garden usually catered to boating, but there are noknown records of boating ever taking place at Toyamasō, andthe lack of a central island also suggests that boating was notamong the pursuits here. It is reasonable to think of this garden
as essentially a kaiyu (stroll) garden designed to offer beautiful
vistas, as suggested by its many tsukiyama (artificial hills). Infact, with its man-made attractions, the garden might possibly
suggest an equivalent to the theme parks of the modern day.
This unusually large number of tsukiyama for a daimyo garden
represents a notable feature of Toyamasō Garden. Each of these“hills” had a name, such as Gyokuenpō, Inuiyama, Shūsuidai,Ōishiyama, and Kinmeizan, to name just the major ones.
Gyokuenpō was the highest tsukiyama in the garden, andsurvives to this day as Hakoneyama, or Mount Hakone.

Hakoneyama today
The height of this artificial hill today is 44.6 meters above sea
level, making it the highest point within the Yamanote Line.

Shūsuidai and Inuiyama

Field Museum Guide Toyama ParkOwari
Toyamasō
Before you explore Toyama Park,be sure to download Tokyo Parks
Play, an app designed to makeyour park visits more fun.
The app provides information about latest events at Tokyo Metropolitan parks, as well as game “missions” for you to complete. Owari
Toyamasō Konjaku Meguri (Toyamasō Past and Present) is the release
for Toyama Park, which can be used as a quiz-rally style companion toself-guided tours of the park.
To download the app, go to an app store
and search either “Tokyo Metropolitan
Park Association” or “Tokyo Parks Play.”

Outline of Toyama Park

Kinmeizan

Birth and history of Toyamasō

Opened August 16, 1954
Area open to the public: 186,471.81 square meters
Location: Toyama 1-chome, 2-chome, 3-chome, and Okubo 3-chome,
Shinjuku WardDirections• Shin-Okubo Station and Takadanobaba Station ( JR Yamanote
and Tokyo Metro Tozai Lines) are ten minutes on foot from the Okubo
section of the park, and 25 minutes on foot from the Hakoneyama sectionof the park.
• Nishi-waseda Station (Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line) is six minutes
on foot from the Okubo section of the park, and eight minutes from theHakoneyama section of the park.
• Waseda Station (Tokyo Metro Tozai Line) is ten minutes on foot fromthe Hakoneyama section of the park.
• Wakamatsu-kawada Station (Tokyo Metro Oedo Line) is 15 minutes
on foot from the Hakoneyama section of the park.
Issued March 2019 by Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association
Edited by Toyama Park Service Center
Phone: 03-3200-1702
Address: 3-5-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0072

Past and Present

Toyamasō was the shimoyashiki (suburban residence) of theOwari Tokugawa clan, ruler of Owari domain. Its construction
began around 1669, on 151,800 square meters of land given bySaishōji Temple in Ushigome. This was the temple of a
Buddhist nun named Soshin, who was the great-grandmotherof Chiyo-hime (Princess Chiyo), daughter of the third Shogun
Tokugawa Iemitsu, and wife of Tokugawa Mitsutomo, thesecond lord of Owari. The mansion was expanded after afurther 280,500 square meters of land was awarded by theshogunate in 1671. With additional acquisitions of surroundingland, the grounds of the mansion ultimately grew to 44.9
hectares, nearly ten times the size of the Tokyo Dome stadium.
Because the land included the local Shinto shrine Wadato-myojin, and straddled the two hamlets of Wada and Toyama,
the mansion became known as Wada-toyama-yashiki, or morecommonly, Toyamasō.
This shimoyashiki is traditionally believed to have been constructed to ensure comfort and convenience of Princess Chiyo
when the Owari Tokugawas were forced, due to a fire, to evacuate their kamiyashiki (city-center residence; it was located closeto today’s Ministry of Defense). An alternative, somewhat moreplausible explanation is that it was built for the personal indulgence of Tokugawa Mitsutomo. He was recorded to havefrequently spent time at Toyamasō during his reign as ruler ofOwari domain. After retirement, he permanently moved to thisshimoyashiki, even though at that time retired domain lords
usually took up residence at their nakayashiki (a secondary,often smaller, city-center residence).
After the death of Mitsutomo, Toyamasō fell into disrepair. Itwas brought back to its former glory when it was refurbishedduring the time of ninth lord Munechika (1733–1800) toentertain the eleventh Shogun Tokugawa Ienari (1773–1841).
The revived Toyamasō hosted visits by the so-called Gosankeand other important daimyo in addition to the Shogun. Ienari
reputedly praised the garden as being the best in the country.
In subsequent years Toyamasō suffered the ravages of multiple
fires and storms. Many of its buildings were lost to the great fireof Aoyama in 1859.
The property was administered by the military after 1874, andhosted Toyama Gakko, a military school. After the end of theSecond World War, Toyamasō became a national property, andwas partly opened to the public in 1954 as a park named TokyoMetropolitan Toyama Koen Hakoneyama Chiku.

Toyamasō as shown in an illustrated handscroll
Bukuryōzaka was a sloping street that led
to the goten (palace). It was lined withtownhouse-style buildings, some of whichhoused tea shops. Close by was the long-established local Shinto shrine, Wadato-myojin. It is said that the street received its namebecause the area was known to produce
Bukuryō, a species of medicinal mushroom found growing on the roots of pinetrees.

2 Yokeidō and Tsurigane ★
Yokeidō was probably the most impressivebuilding in Toyamasō. It was linked toOmotegoten by a covered walkway, andthe interior was decorated with numerous
masterworks of calligraphy and other art.
In the garden was a tsurigane (a largetemple bell), said to have been salvaged
from the sea. Yokeidō was also referred toas Fujimi-goten, because it commanded aview of Mount Fuji, from beyond thetrees.
Shōtokujō was a horse racing ground at the bottom of Yokeidō garden.
Measuring nearly 132 meters in length, it had an earth mound built in thecenter, around which horses raced. There were also stands for spectators, and aditch for horses to cool down in. To the west of the race course was a clear
stream, named Takueisen. It provided a habitat for frogs and fireflies, whichwere brought there and released. The area was surrounded by crop fields.
Takueisen (then called Oigawa) was actually a canal created at Toyamasō, fedby Kanigawa, a river originating near Kabukicho 1-chome. The name Takuei
literally means “to wash the cord of one’s coronet,” which metaphoricallymeant, “release from secular duties and concerns.”

4 Koekirō ★
Completed in 1672, Koekirō was also
referred to as Honjin. It consisted of twobuildings, one of which was furnished as amedicine shop, while the other was fittedwith balustrades to serve as a building
from which to enjoy the view of thegrounds and ponds. Both structures weremodeled after Toraya, a famous Odawara
confectioner.

10 Kohakubashi

11 Gyokuenpō (called Hakoneyama today)

Completed the same year as Koekirō in1672, Omachiya was a life-sized replica of a
block of townhouses in Odawarajuku, apost-station town. The complex measured
206 meters in length, and consisted of 37
structures which housed trades such as a
blacksmith and a rice merchant. Whenever the Shogun visited, his retainers
played the part of shopkeepers, entertaining the Shogun by giving him a taste of thelives of the common people.

Literally “amber bridge,” Kohakubashi
was a wooden bridge spanning the middleof the pond. According to an illustrated
handscroll, its span measured nearly 30meters. The pond had a gazebo named
Yotsudō on its north bank, and beyond it
two small islands, named Tsurushima andKameshima.

Gyokuenpō was an artificial hill built fromsoil dug out to make the pond. It was named
after its round shape that resembled an
upturned bowl, and it still retains its shapetoday. The present name Hakoneyama dates
from the Meiji era.

Toyamasō Garden Past and Present

6 SaiuntōSaiuntō is an embankment located northeast of Omachiya. It was originally calledNakazutsumi, but was renamed Saiuntō (lit.
bank of red clouds) because of the many
crape myrtle flowers planted there, which
when in bloom appeared like swathes of redclouds.

KinmeizanN

7 Yōrōsen ★
This water well, completed in 1687, was aprominent feature of Toyamasō. It is recorded
to have constantly produced clean water. Thewell wall was chiseled out of a single, purple-hued rock. The name Yōrōsen literallymeans, “Medicinal spring water for remedying the symptoms of aging.”

8GotenShūsuidai

8 Shōrozan
Literally “Little Lushan,” Shōrozan was created to simulate Lushan, or Mount Lu, inChina. A rustic cottage displaying a tablet
inscribed “Rozanji Temple” was built here,
and the area was covered with kuma bamboograss. To the west of Shōrozan was a shrine
dedicated to Ōji-gongen. The shrine’s torii(gate) stood in the pond in front.

Bukuryōzaka

Yōrōsen

11Hakoneyama(Mount Hakone)73
Shōtokujō
Koekirō465

9 Zuiryūtei
Zuiryūtei was a sukiya-style building built
on a spot that commanded a panoramicview of the garden. The interior was decorated with paintings and furnishings. On
the edge of the pond were two ancient
willow trees. There were inlets (arms of thepond) on both sides of Zuiryūtei, whichwere spanned by bridges.

21109Yokeidō

Original painting: Owari Dainagon dono shimo yashiki Toyamasō
zenzu (Source: National Diet Library website)
The dotted white line indicates the outline of present-day Toyama
Park (Hakoneyama area).

Meiji-dori★：Toyama Park’s Hakoneyama area has five historic site markers.

Ōkubo-dori

3 Shōtokujō ★

5 OmachiyaoriBukuryōzaka ★

Suwa-d1