The gardens associated with the Imperial Palace in Kyoto may date no earlier than the rebuilding of the palace in the middle of the 19th Century. They are of some interest to the historian of Japanese gardens, however, in that they contain elements that appear to be conscious revivals of Japan's earliest Imperial gardens. In that sense, they may respond to the same nostalgic impulse that inspired the gardens of Katsura Villa. Choose a view point from the map or click on Tour the Garden for more views of this garden. A more detailed history of the garden is reached by clicking on History.
The gardens of Kyoto’s Imperial Park include three featured in this website (for the other two, see Sento Gosho and Shusui-tei). The current site of the Imperial Palace was once the estate of one Tsuchimikado Higashi, the original palace having been located slightly to the southwest. The Kyoto Gosho did not become the permanent residence of the Emperor until the Shoguns Nobunaga and Hideyoshi rebuilt it in the late 16th Century, and the present buildings date only from 1855. It is difficult to guess how many of the garden elements found to the east of the palace complex predate the late Edo Period, but it is clear that whoever designed the more private stream garden must have had in mind the “poetry contest gardens” of the earliest Emperors. Even the pond garden with its islands and Chinese-style arched bridge may have been a conscious attempt at recreating the great water gardens of the Heian nobility.
