World Cultural Heritage Series: Shikinaen Garden

#1月好去地方2025 Shikina Garden - "Travel to the Imperial Palace, Quiet Shikina Garden" As a "World Cultural Heritage" attraction, Shikina Garden is less well-known, but after visiting it, you will find that it is full of elegance and has a strong Chinese architectural style. In ancient times, it was an important place to entertain nobles. It is a "pond-style" garden, and is equipped with Ryukyu's unique red tile roof architecture. The overall visual adds a lot of simple and beautiful style! ! 📚Overview: Located in the south of Shuri Castle, it is also known as "Nanyuan". In addition to being the detached palace of the Ryukyu Dynasty, it is also an important place to entertain nobles or Chinese envoys. The most famous thing in the park is the "Heart Pond", which is romantic and elegant~ 📕Class time: It was built by the second Sho Dynasty of the Ryukyu Kingdom and completed in 1799 during the reign of the 15th King Sho On. It is the largest detached residence of the Ryukyu royal family. It was mainly used for leisure of the royal family and for receiving envoys from the Chinese emperor for conferring titles. It was designated as a "National Scenic Spot" in 1941, but after being damaged during World War II, it was restored and recognized as a "National Scenic Spot" in 1976. In 2000, it was designated as a "National Special Scenic Spot". You can stroll here and think about the glory of the past dynasties! ✨Inside the garden: ~Walking path~ From the entrance to the inner part of the garden, you will first pass through a quiet path, with many banyan trees and hollyhocks planted on the side of the road, as if telling the visiting travelers to slow down and calm down, and take a good walk in this quiet garden! ! ~Goden~ Located in the central garden of Shikina-en, the Goden has 15 rooms with a total area of ​​about 160 square meters. Inside, you can see various remains of receiving distinguished guests, including banquet rooms, tea rooms, kitchens, etc. The most important thing is to sit by the eaves and admire the "Hexagonal Hall" in the distance, supplemented by the beautiful scenery of the "Heart-shaped Pond", which is like appreciating a long horizontal painting ~ quite interesting for scholars! ~Heart Pond~ The pond in front of the palace looks like the Chinese character "心" when viewed from above, hence the name. The pond is connected by a stone bridge, which is built in imitation of the "Taihu Stone" in Chinese gardens. You can find traces of Chinese style everywhere👣! ~ Rokkakudo ~ You can reach it by crossing the stone bridge over the Shinji Pond. There are many Ryukyu pines and willows planted around it. Although willows are not uncommon in Japanese gardens, they are almost non-existent in Ryukyu! ! I think it was really carefully designed back then~ ~Kangentai~ It is an observation deck in the garden. It used to be a whole piece of farmland. It is said that it was designed to let Chinese envoys feel the vastness of the Ryukyu land, which is quite intended to show the national prestige of the Ryukyu Kingdom! : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :