The Garden of Nishimura Villa

Highlight

Fresh water is constantly drawn from Myojingawa stream to keep the garden stream and pond crystal clear

A splendid garden assembled some 800 years ago

In Edo times, Kamigamo Shrine officials, who descended from powerful families such as the Kamo clan, built their villas in a shrine enclave known as Shake-machi on Myojingawa Stream. The Meiji Restoration saw the end of such clans, so shrine villa numbers have declined, but there are still 20 or so houses in Kamigamo’s Shake-machi.
And, of these, the only shrine villa open to the public is the Nishimura Villa. The villa was built by the 8th family head of the Nishimura family in the mid-to-late Meiji period. However, the garden is the legacy of the Kamigamo chief Shinto priest Shigeyasu Fujiki, who designed it in 1181.
The garden is laid with beautiful flowers that bloom with the seasons. And, it is said, that the stream and pond (drawing water from Myojingawa) were the setting for ancient tanka poetry parties - gokusui-no-en.