When Tokugawa Ieyasu was on his way to capture Edo, there was a man who went before the advance forces, and gained great success in battle. His name was Kiyonari Naito. Because of Naito’s success he was given a large piece of land from the government. The condition of his prize was that he could receive a plot the size of the distance his horse could run.
So Natio departed on his white horse. East to Setagaya west to Roppongi, south to Sendagaya, north to Okubo. The current Shinjuku Gyoen fits within that original site. Eventually Naito built a mansion and began to reside on the grounds. That is the origin of the park. Shinjuku Gyoen was the garden of the Naito family.
With the construction of a road leading to a place called Koshu, a new city sprang up nearby Naito's land, which was filled with inns for lodging. This new town came to be known as the Naito-Shinjku. In Japanese the word new is “shin” and the word inn is “juku”. Thus is the origin of the word for the place called Shinjuku.
When the Meiji restoration occurred the Natio family returned the land to the government. This was part of the “rich country and strong army” period of Meiji. Japan aspired to modernize agricultural production as well. For that reason, on this spacious piece of land, a plant and tree research center was created called the “Natio-Shinjuku Testing Center”. Plant seeds from the West were also acquired and tested to inquire as to whether they could be raised in Japan.
Sometime later the research center was moved to Mita, and Shinjuku Gyoen became part of the Imperial Gardens. The garden was created to show hospitality to guests and to carry out national events. Eventually it would grow to contain English style, French style, and Japanese style gardens. There was also a golf course, tennis courts, and a glass house which is the site of an old western style building.
To commemorate the marriage of the Emperor Showa, the Taiwan Pavilion (also known as Kyu-Goryotei) was constructed in the park . Unfortunately, during the war food shortages occurred and the land came to be used for agriculture purposes. Soldiers utilized the grounds to raise wheat and potatoes, but due to air raids, almost the entirety of the land was burned.
After the war, the park became accessible to any citizen and now is known as National Park Shinjuku Gyoen. Located in the middle of a city, the garden has become a place to grow familiar with plants and to think about nature. Eventually the park was expanded to include the Mother and Child Forest along with the Large Greenhouse.
To know the history of the place may change the way in which you look at Shinjuku Gyoen.