autumn leaves
Autumn leaves of Kakegawa are kept in the secret garden protected by walls of the history.
Walking for about ten minutes from the North Exit of the Kakegawa Station, you will find a thick forest in a residential neighborhood. This is “Matsugaoka.”
This residential garden which has been there for over hundreds of years looked like a hill of pine trees. That’s how this place was named.
“Matsugaoka (Old Yamazaki Residence)” has a land of about 5300 square meters (as big as 20 residential houses). Its residential area is 10 times as big as a typical residence (about 1200 square meters). Showing the authority of this business tycoon, the main house, Nagaya Gate, and Naka Gate used highly selected materials and remain as constructed in 1856.
This garden turn to a wonderful stage of colored leaves in autumn.
The culture of Japanese gardens is old. The Japanese people, who find the beauty in the nature for all four seasons, expected the gardens to be a beauty of their own culture. Gardens are designed and maintained by gardening specialists so that people can sense changes of four seasons and enjoy the gardens throughout the year.
The autumn in the garden of Matsugaoka is especially wonderful.
In the Edo era, administrative districts were called “Han.” Kakegawa was called “Kakegawa Han” and treated as one of the states in Japan. A garden left by the Yamazaki Family, one of top three merchants of the Kakegawa Han, is so beautiful that you cannot imagine this garden was created in the middle of urban district in Kakegawa.
Leaves Colored in Red, Trees Covering Sky in Yellow…
Although it is a wonderful experience to walk in the Japanese garden with steppingstones, please do not miss the chance to see the garden by sitting on the hall of this house.
The garden seen from the room where even the Emperor of Meiji has stayed will give you a beautiful time to master the beauty of wooden architecture and Japanese garden.
The best season of autumn leaves falls in November and December. Usually, Matsugaoka is open to the public only once a month. During the autumn season, however, this place is open to the public every day. If you visit Kakegawa in autumn, there is no reason to ask “How about autumn leaves in Matsugaoka?” at the information booth in the Kakegawa Station. If you are lucky, you can see a wonderful scenery you will never forget.
Matsugaoka
