Sengan-en


Sengan-en is a Japanese garden attached to a former Shimazu clan residence in Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Designated a Place of Scenic Beauty, together with the adjacent Shōko Shūseikan it forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site . Sengan-en is managed by Shimadzu Ltd.

History

The Sengan-en residence was built by Shimazu Mitsuhisa in 1658. The name is derived from a supposed resemblance to an eponymous feature on Long Hu Shan. In 1736 Shimazu Yoshitaka added a kyokusui water feature and moso bamboo, obtained from China via the Ryūkyū Kingdom. During the Bakumatsu and Meiji periods, the residence housed visiting dignitaries including Katsu Kaishū, Willem Huyssen van Kattendijke, and Pompe van Meerdervoort in 1858, Harry Smith Parkes in 1866, Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich and Prince George of Greece in 1891, and the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn in 1906, and Edward VIII in 1922.

Gardens

The gardens incorporate the view of Sakurajima across Kagoshima Bay as borrowed scenery.