The plum trees wait impatiently in the small garden. Hopefully a butterfly will come. Hopefully a bee will come. The branches cast shadows on the stairs, their tips jutting out through the fence. Their sweet scent is carried by the wind. The faint signs of spring.
As you enter the forest, you’ll be greeted by chirping birds and the sounds of insects.
In the Edo period, the Daimyo gardens were not only a place for feudal lords to rest, socialize and enjoy themselves, but also a place for them to train in martial arts. Housing towers and elaborate tea rooms containing specially selected plants, these gardens were a manifestation of the lord’s senses, refinement, and worldview.
Nakazu Bansyouen is one of the smaller gardens built during its time. Some experts would even call it a garden built on a “human scale.” This garden wasn’t made as a representation of authority or a place to host guests, but rather as a place to gather with close friends and family to let loose.
After you pass through the forest, you’ll find yourself in an open space. Here they would hold mochi throwing contests, tea parties, and drink sake. They must have rowed out on the pond to admire the autumn harvest moon. After catching fish on the beach past the garden, the fisherman would rest in the gardens. As written in the song above, people could be seen searching for bees and butterflies.
In a sense, it was a utopia. As you continue walking, you will find a barrier that says “if you pass through here, you will live a long and prosperous life.” There is a thought process carried over from China that states people in the garden could attain perpetual youth and longevity through training and medicine. Just beyond this point is an island likened to Mt. Horai where trees that are said to grant perpetual youth and longevity are planted. The large, 600 year old Umbrella Pine tree also acts as a symbol of longevity. By sharing in the legends and motifs surrounding us, those who dream of eternal life can feel they are one step closer to achieving an impossible dream.
