Opening
a Private Garden to the Public through Intermediary: the Case
of Rikugien Garden in the 18th Century Tokyo |
| This paper deals with Rikugien garden in terms of opening private space to the public. Rikugien was the garden of the lower residence of the Yanagisawa clan, a daimyo family, in the city of Edo (now Tokyo). When Nobutoki Yanagisawa lived at the lower residence in the 18th century, he accepted visitors to the garden regardless of their status, occupation, age, gender or place of residence. Visitors without any connection to Nobutoki asked for permission to visit the garden through an intermediary. Those who worked for him in the lower residence acted as intermediaries. It is meaningful that various people visited the garden of a daimyo residence at a time when social classes were strictly separated in many aspects of life and daimyo residences usually shut their doors to outsiders. In this case, the garden provided an opportunity to open the daimyo residence to outsiders and introduce them inside. Also, the intermediary made anonymous outsiders identifiable individuals who in turn gained a sense of connection with the place. |