Kikuya Residence South Garden

 

The Kikuya family were wealthy and powerful merchants in the old castle town of Hagi. They were financiers of the ruling Mori Clan nd also were the de facto mayors of the town. Their Edo Period residence is open to the public and I have posted about it before. The gardens are rather nice, especially in the Autumn.

Starting in the Meiji Period, they built two new hpuses to the south of the main residence, one a single storey, and the later one with two storeys and a little more Western.

These were used as guesthouses for wealthy and powerful guests, and in the 1930's a Prime Minister stayed here as did minor members of the imperial family.

Over the years, well into the twentieth century, they created and expanded the gardens around these new houses, and they are now open to the public, though only in the Spring and Autumn.