Qualla: Koraku-en https://qualla.com/koraku-en en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:39 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/p/j/koraku-en-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Koraku-en https://qualla.com/koraku-en Koraku-en: Introduction https://qualla.com/koraku-en/ Photo credit Aimaimyi, CC BY-SA 3.0. The garden's name contains a philosophy. Koraku-en -- literally "garden of later enjoyment" -- takes its meaning from a Chinese maxim by the Song dynasty scholar Fan Zhongyan: "Grieve earlier than others, enjoy later than others." The idea is that a wise ruler carries the burdens of the people before partaking in pleasures. When the daimyō Ikeda Tsunamasa ordered construction of this garden in 1687, he was building a place of leisure, but the name -- adopted in 1871 -- reframed it as something nobler. Today, Koraku-en stands as one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, alongside Kenroku-en in Kanazawa and Kairaku-en in Mito, and its 133,000 square meters of lawns, ponds, and tea houses remain a living expression of Edo-period garden design.

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Image: Aimaimyi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/p/j/koraku-en-wp/wypj-koraku-en-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Koraku-en: Thirteen Years of Construction https://qualla.com/koraku-en/ Photo credit by Reggaeman, CC BY-SA 3.0. In 1687, Ikeda Tsunamasa charged his retainer Tsuda Nagatada with building a garden on an island in the Asahi River, just north of Okayama Castle. The work took thirteen years. When the garden opened in 1700, it was originally called Koen -- "later garden" -- because it was built...

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Image: by Reggaeman | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/p/j/koraku-en-wp/wypj-koraku-en-thirteen-years-of-construction.mp3 0:06 2 full Koraku-en: A Garden for Lords and Commoners https://qualla.com/koraku-en/ Photo credit 663highland, CC BY 2.5. Koraku-en served multiple purposes for the Ikeda lords. It was a venue for entertaining important guests, a private retreat, and -- on designated days -- a place where ordinary people could enter and experience the grounds. This partial openness was unusual for daimyo gardens, an...

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Image: 663highland | CC BY 2.5

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/p/j/koraku-en-wp/wypj-koraku-en-a-garden-for-lords-and-commoners.mp3 0:06 3 full Koraku-en: Destruction and Restoration https://qualla.com/koraku-en/ Photo credit Malaiya, CC BY-SA 4.0. Koraku-en has been devastated twice. Severe flooding in 1934 damaged much of the garden's infrastructure. Then, on June 29, 1945, allied bombing during World War II scarred the landscape further. In both cases, restoration relied on the Edo-period paintings and diagrams that the ...

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Image: Malaiya | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/p/j/koraku-en-wp/wypj-koraku-en-destruction-and-restoration.mp3 0:06 4 full Koraku-en: Walking the Promenade https://qualla.com/koraku-en/ Photo credit No machine-readable author provided. Calips assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0. The kaiyu design means Koraku-en is meant to be walked, not viewed from a single vantage point. Paths connect lawns, ponds, artificial hills, tea houses, and streams in a sequence that rewards slow movement and attention. The Enyo-tei House and Kakumei-kan stand as resting points...

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Image: No machine-readable author provided. Calips assumed (based on copyright claims). | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/p/j/koraku-en-wp/wypj-koraku-en-walking-the-promenade.mp3 0:06 5 full