Kenroku-en Garden

Kanazawa, Japan

Kenrokuen was begun in the 17th century as the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle. It was almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1759, along with the castle, but rebuilt soon after. Fed with water by diverting the course of a river, the garden spreads across 25 acres and displays a variety of built features and seasonal foliage.

This spring photo looks south from Kotojitoro Lantern across Kasumigaike Pond to the Shigure Teahouse. The toro (lantern) is unusual in having two supporting feet instead of just one (or three), and has become a favorite symbol of the garden.

Here is essentially the same view in the fall. The Kotoji lantern is so-named because it seems to resemble the forked bridges that carry the strings on a Japanese koto.
And here is a winter view of the same lantern. I don't want to obsess about this one feature, but it seemed interesting to show the same view in different seasons.

In this photo, we can also see some protective snow suspenders (yukitsuri) on the pines at photo left.