Sankeien Gardens - farmhouse

I could easily picture myself living in the Japanese countryside, relaxing on this kind of back porch drinking some ice-cold barley tea while listening to the cicadas humming all afternoon long!

Upkeep of a thatched roof would require learning new skills that are known among fewer and fewer of the Japanese with each passing generation.

I wonder if I would even be able to afford the insurance premiums if I lived in such a house. They are rather susceptible to fires, although structurally resistant to earthquakes due to the use of joint construction.

Keep coming back to this back porch. Can't quite get it out of my head!

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sankeien Gardens - Doors

One of the nice things of visiting the different buildings in Sankeien is that we can actually go inside some of the building and get up close with the interior.

Not only are the buildings old, but there are also many artifacts from the daily lives of the family's lives from the building's time period.

In this shot, we can see a device used to hold iron pots or kettles over the hot coals of an indoor fireplace called a hibachi, which is a box-shaped, open-topped container designed to hold burning charcoal.

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sankeien Gardens - Ceilings

One of the buildings in the garden is an old, farmhouse that was disassembled at its original location and reassembled here at the garden.

The interior decorations used throughout the building are exquisite wooden carvings that serve both aesthetic and functional purposes.

Even the heads of nails or steel pegs are decorated with finely detailed motifs! Love the attention to detail that was applied to the construction of this old farmhouse. 

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sankeien Exteriors Deities

Love the soft carpeting of moss that grows during this time of year!

The ever-present crow is a constant nuisance in urban environments, but seems quite at home in this garden. 

If I could read Japanese, I would be able to understand who was of such significance that his likeness was carved into stone.

Obviously, this is one of thousands different caricatures of the Buddha. The garden includes a few national treasures on its premises.

I like the contrast of a thatched roof with wooden and bamboo eaves below. 

An old-fashioned back porch and the huge stone that one would rest their feet on during a hot and humid summer day.

The design just below the roof is a common motif used in religious buildings of either Buddhist or Shinto traditions.

I could be happy with such a back porch. Winter would be a bit cold however!

The complexity of such a huge and heavy roof is amazing considering it was all hand-made with the aid of modern-day equipment.

Reflections in a small stream running by the old traditional house.

More moss covered rocks and wet stepping stones for the sidewalk -- love the color, light, and texture!

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sankeien Gardens - Windows

During this time of year, we can look out the windows of the structures in the park and enjoy the greenery and stones in the mini-gardens around the buildings. 

Interestingly, these buildings are so old, they don't have glass windows -- the buildings are dated from a time when glass was not commonly used in buildings in Japan.

Instead of glass, shoji, or paper was used to keep out the elements and insects while allowing a soft light into the room interior. Such paper shutters are still used in modern Japanese homes on the interior for aesthetic purposes instead of using curtains or shutters. 

In Japan, sliding paper window screens are called shoji (障子), while the paper sliding doors are called fusama (ふさま).

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sankeien Gardens - Pagoda, Bridge, Moss, Shrines

This pagoda was disassembled piece by piece and reconstructed here at Sankeien Gardens using most of if not all of the original components. 

I'm pretty sure these are lilacs. That boat is the brown in the background. 

This tiny shrine was even reconstructed using the same worn stone steps of the original site!

Being so close to the shore line affords the park enough moisture for moss to grow in abundance!

As always, you can expect to see the hard work of craftsmen who know how to assemble this bamboo fences using only rope to tie them together.

Cross the bridge over the pond leads to several small trails that you can take to see other floral attractions or other buildings that were save and rebuilt here.

I don't know what these things are called, but they are common on the corners of most temples, shrines, and homes of wealthy farmers.

This sloping style of roof tends to be more common with Buddhist temples than Buddhist shrines. Of course, some shrines tend to incorporate architectural cues from China, which at the time was primarily Buddhist. 

The park has a few small restaurants and coffee/tea shops where you can get some refreshments if you don't mind pay the premium prices. 

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sankeien Gardens - Brooks, Stones, Roof, Pond

A reconstructed religious building (temple or shrine) located in a green corner of the gardens.

A small creek with tiny waterfalls feeds the pond at the bottom of the small valley where the gardens are located.

There's that boat again. Can't quite get enough of it. Love how it reflects on the water.

Some of the pine trees are "trained" to grow in a certain way like huge bonsai trees.

Wonder if there is a specific reason for directing the branches close to the water surface besides how graceful it looks. 

This time of year the hydrangeas were blossoming. 

There are different shades of these blossoms, with the purplish ones being my favorite.

Love the moss covered rocks and the babbling brook.

As to be expected, we can see huge lanterns and other objects carved from stone.

Having a huge rock with a carved out center to catch water is nice. Some people even put tiny fish in these or plants.

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.