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Shugaku-in Imperial Villa - (Shugaku-in Rikyū) 修学院離宮 (built 1655)

Shugaku-in is the largest of Kyoto's Imperial villas. Situated at the base of Mt. Hiei, where mountain streams ensure an abundant water supply, the villa commands an excellent view of downtown Kyoto throughout the year. Shugaku-in was designed by the foremost man of the times, the retired Emperor Go-Mizunoo, who worked alongside architects and artisans to create a place where he could retire in peaceful seclusion.

Go-Mizunoo lived at the dawn of the Tokugawa era, a time of peace and prosperity after the turmoil of national unification. When Go-Mizunoo assumed the throne in 1611 at the tender age of fifteen, the shoguns were busy consolidating their grip on a unified Japan. Though they respected the cultural supremacy of the Emperor, they refused to give him a political voice and took steps to limit his power. In 1613 and 1615 the ruling shogun, Hidetada, passed laws restricting the rights of the nobility and curtailing the power of the Emperor. The Emperor found that he could do little but pursue cultural affairs. Fortunately, he was a man of high intelligence who grew to love calligraphy, art, and the subtleties of the tea ceremony. He was also given a large stipend by the government to keep him satisfied with his position.

The satisfaction did not last forever. In 1627 priests of the Jodo sect of Buddhism were exiled to remote islands. The Emperor was a member of the Jodo sect and supported the priests, but the Shogun had the final say. The mollified Emperor held out for two more years before abdicating in November 1629, expressing his displeasure in the only way he could by immediately appointing his daughter Okiko as Empress.

About ten years later, the Shogun decided to fund the construction of an imperial villa for Go-Mizunoo. Agents of the Shogun approached the Emperor. who soon showed interest in the project. In 1641 he sent aides to search for a suitable spot near Mt. Kinugasa, but none of the sites were suitable. Agents scoured the surrounding hills while the Emperor set up temporary villas in the suburbs of Kyoto. Fourteen years later, efforts were still underway when the Emperor stopped at the Enshoji nunnery at dawn on March 13, 1655. Here his first daughter had lived as a nun. As the Emperor ate his breakfast he probably came to a decision. The timing presented the topography in the best light--the dawn of spring--and from that time on, preparations were made for a final villa to be built on the site.

The site was cleared by transferring the existing nunnery to the Todo family in southern Nara. The bare hillside offered tremendous potential, which the builders took advantage of by erecting a large dam to create the pond in the upper villa of today. As water filled the small valley, islets emerged from the water. The upper villa was the first portion to be completed,with the lower villa coming to fruition by 1659. On March 14th, 1659,a dedication reception was held in which phrases such as "surprising to see" and "struck with amazement" were exchanged.

The middle villa was not constructed in its present form until the 1680s, after Go-Mizunoo's death. The character of the middle villa was more religious. Though originally called the palace of Princess Ake (daughter of Go-Mizunoo), it became known as the Rinkyuji nunnery. It was a temple run by priests of the imperial family line.

Though artisans helped, Shugaku-in is largely the brainchild of the Emperor himself. His natural intelligence and wholehearted devotion to the arts enabled the Emperor to create a marvel of design that still delights visitors today.

Plan of Shugaku-in Imperial Villa

Image adapted from the Mainichi Newspapers, Kyoto, Japan.