Yokokan Garden

Fukui City is historically significant for its status as a major political center under the Matsudaira clan during the Edo period. The Matsudaira family ruled major parts of Echizen Province from the fortified Fukui Castle, their headquarters. Despite suffering catastrophic destruction during World War II and a massive earthquake in 1948, the city continued to rebuild. Eventually, Fukui adopted the nickname “Phoenix City” to symbolize its steadfast recovery.

History of Yokokan Garden

Photo by: PIXTA/ Asawa27

Built in the early 17th century along the former outer moat of Fukui Castle, Yokokan Garden served as a secondary residence and villa for the Matsudaira family. Its original name, osensui yashiki (garden pond residence), reflected the garden’s strategic function as a channel that supplied drinking water from the Shibahara Aqueduct to the castle town. Following the Meiji Restoration, the government assumed ownership of the castle, though the Matsudaira family retained the villa. The site was later renamed “Yokokan,” symbolizing the “nurturing of a broad and generous spirit.” While the horrendous war destroyed the primary historic structures and surrounding trees, the garden’s stone arrangements, artificial hills, and spatial layout remained unaltered. Yokokan was designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty in 1982 and continues to uphold its reputation as one of Japan’s finest mid-Edo-period villa gardens.

Garden Layout and Features

Photo by: Alma Reyes

Designed as a strolling-style garden, Yokokan was not only a sanctuary for the Matsudaira family but also a venue for tea ceremonies and banquets. Guests look out onto a large, 2,300-square-meter crystal-clear pond flanked by a pebble-covered veranda. Locally sourced stepping stones line the exterior of the mansion artistically, extending to the pathways around the small hills. A stream creates the illusion that the building is floating on the water. At the rear edge of the pond, a quaint teahouse pavilion, “Seiren,” crafted from zelkova wood, offers a panoramic view of the surrounding area. Next to it, a seven-story stone pagoda rests on a daruma-shaped rock island. It represents prayer and tranquility, evoking a solemn and meditative atmosphere amid the landscape’s water-and-stone composition.

Villa Residence

Photo by: Alma Reyes

The lord’s mansion has carefully preserved its traditional “sukiya-zukuri” architectural style, which seamlessly integrates into the circuit-style water garden. It sits close to the central pond, allowing family members and guests to feel an intimate connection with the landscape. Giant, flat stones support the wooden pillars and merge with the curved outline of the shore—a rare landscaping technique. The ceilings use thin boards of Sawara cypress fastened with lacquered rods, while the beams reveal an elegant cedar finish. On a sunny day, sunbeams mirroring off the pond flicker across the ceilings, adding brilliance to the interior.

The gozanoma (lord’s audience room) boasts a projecting alcove featuring an openwork design, carved from a single slab of mulberry wood. Pieces of Echizen “fusuma” paper finished with Echizen Torinoko paper decorate the sliding walls. Meanwhile, the otsukimi-no-ma (moon viewing room) consists of a cloud-shaped window designed to capture the moon’s reflection on the water. Mother-of-pearl inlays adorn the side shelves. There is also a bathhouse, “Oyudono,” tucked away at the rear side of the villa. Built from Japanese Hinoki cypress, it features a steam bath used by the Matsudaira family. The unique construction of the residence maintains the exact eye-level view of the garden as it was enjoyed centuries ago, making the site a truly timeless work of art.