Kyu-Furukawa Gardens 3.77

Kyu-Furukawa Gardens is a Tokyo metropolitan park in Nishigahara, Kita, Tokyo. The park includes an old western-style mansion with a rose garden, and a Japanese garden which were built in early 20th century.OutlineThis mansion was built by Baron Toranosuke Furukawa, which includes a western-style building and a western-style garden,and a Japanese-style garden. The western-style building and western-style gardens were completed in 1917, which were designed by English architect Josiah Conder (1852-1920). Conder was called "father of Japanese modern architecture" and also designed Rokumeikan and Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Garden, Holy Resurrection Cathedral. And the Japanese garden was completed in 1919, which was designed by Japanese-gardener Ogawa Jihei VII.Baron Furukawa was the owner of Furukawa zaibatu which owned Ashio copper mine.Western building and gardenThe outlook of the building is completely Western-style,and the ground floor rooms are also western-style, but the second floor rooms are mostly in Japanese style with tatami matless. The mansion is built on a steep slope of Musashino Terrace. The building is located on the top of a hill, western-garden on the slope, and Japanese garden on the bottom. The western garden is a complex of Italian style and geometric French style rose garden. On the bottom of the western garden is a Rhododendron plantation which harmonise the western geometric garden and non geometric Japanese garden.