Murin-an is a modern Japanese garden built as a villa for statesman Yamagata Aritomo. Its open lawn, flowing water, and view toward the Higashiyama mountains differ from more enclosed garden traditions, revealing a late nineteenth-century approach to landscape and political retreat.
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Water moves through Murin-an rather than resting in a single still pond. The garden was created in the 1890s for statesman Yamagata Aritomo, with landscape designer Ogawa Jihei shaping a composition that uses the Higashiyama mountains as borrowed scenery.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- Murin-an was built between 1894 and 1896 for Yamagata Aritomo.
- The garden was designed by Ogawa Jihei, also known as Ueji.
- Its composition uses the Higashiyama mountains as borrowed scenery.
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