This is the best preserved of the old gardens of Tokio. Its full description, as originally designed for Mitsukuni, the Daimio of Mito, in the seventeenth century, is given in the work "Landscape Gardening in Japan." Most of its original features remain intact, rendering it a very interesting and instructive example; it also has the advantage of being easily accessible to the public. Plate XI. shows an inlet which runs into the lake, representing one of the rivers of Japan, crossed by a bridge consisting of two slabs of granite supported in the centre on stone bearers: its banks are overgrown with grass and bushes, giving it the appearance of a natural stream. In the background may be seen the thickly wooded borders of the lake. Plate XII. illustrates a picturesque view of the lake with an island connected to a rocky islet by a stone bridge consisting of a single slab. Rounded bushes relieve the bareness of the bold rockeries, and other stones lie scattered on the beach of the promontory grouped with a lantern and a number of bushes. The foreground is marked by a handsome old tree of great age, and the island is thickly planted with evergreens. The opposite banks of the lake, planted with an orchard of blossoming fruit trees, may be faintly distinguished. The waterfall which supplies the lake of this garden is illustrated in Plate XIII.
