Name: Shiba Rikyû    Alternate Name: Shiba Detached Palace; Shiba Rikyu; Kyu-Shiba-Rikyu  Address: Hamamatsucho  Mailing Address:   City:   State: Tokyo-to  Postal Code:   Country: JAPAN  Latitude/Longitude: lat=35.65; long=139.75 Find Gardens Nearby Phone:   Fax:   E-Mail:   Contact:   Designer(s):   Construction Period: -   Public/Private: PUBLIC  Hours: 9am - 4:30pm, Closed Mondays  Admission:   Added to JGarden: 8/26/2001  Last Updated: 8/10/2002  JGarden Description: This small stroll garden is an oasis in a concrete jungle and is supposed to be the oldest extant garden in in Tokyo. Tokugawa Ietsuna, the fourth Tokugawa shogun, gave to land here to Okubo Tadatomo. Construction of a garden began in 1678 and continued for centuries. It became the 'Shiba-Rikyu' gardens in 1875. The site is designed around a large pond which may have originally contained sea water. The pond includes two small islands, Oshima and Horai-jima, which are connected to the shore via footbridges. The garden is located next to the bus Hamamatsucho Station on the JR Yamanote-sen. You can get a bird's eye view of the garden from atop the World Trade Centre Building. To get up there, buy a ticket for the elevator on the first floor of the building. It is very close to the Hama Rikyu palace.

Not yet having become a Buddha, This ancient pine-tree, Idly dreaming.   Issa   trans. by R.H. Blyth