Chiran samurai residence garden

This is a scenic area where the samurai residence streets and gardens have been preserved as the remnants of the samurai alley layout of the 18th lord of Chiran, Hisamine Shimazu’s era, some 260 years ago. Each mansion is designed to serve as a defensive barrier like a fortification. Most of the gardens in Chiran are karesansui (dry landscape garden) style, but only the Mori Residence Garden is a pond garden. The samurai residences have been selected as a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, and the garden is designated as a national place of scenic beauty. Scale: 700m in length

I enjoyed the Japanese garden and beautiful townscape at Chiran Buke Yashiki, the little Kyoto of Satsuma.

Chiran-cho is located in the south-central part of Satsuma Peninsula, and the samurai residences built in the Edo period remain intact. This area has been designated as a national preservation area for important traditional buildings and is also known as “Satsuma’s Little Kyoto.

It takes about 50 minutes to reach Chiran Town by car from Kagoshima City, or about 30 minutes by train from JR Kagoshima Chuo Station, getting off at Hirakawa Station (40 minutes) and transferring to a bus.

Near the street where the samurai residences are located, an estuary of the Foothill River called Seiryu-mizo (clear stream channel) flows, where carp swim leisurely. The streets of the town have an old-fashioned atmosphere that is relaxing just to walk around.

The samurai residences were formed during the reign of Hisatatsu Shimazu (1651-1719), the 16th generation of the Sata clan, a branch of the Shimazu family, and Hisamine Shimazu (1732-1772), the 18th generation. The gardens of seven samurai residences still remain along the 700-meter street, and are designated as a national place of scenic beauty.

In addition, eight houses, including the “Former Takagi Residence” where only the residence remains, are open to the public. Surprisingly, descendants still live in many of the residences, and an association has been formed to manage and clean up the area in order to protect the landscape.

Guided tours of Chiran’s samurai residences are available free of charge if you make a reservation in advance (admission fee not included).

The “Mori Shigekata Garden” is a large site with a magnificent gate, and the garden is a magnificent Japanese garden. Although many of the samurai residences in Chiran are open to the public, the Morishigekata Garden is a rare example of a “Chiran-style Futatsuke,” a distinctive structure with combined male and female entrances.

The garden was built in 1741, and while the “karesansui” style is common, this garden has a pond and uses spring water from the mountain.

We also visited the former Takagi Family Residence. Although there is no garden here and only the residence remains, we saw the characteristic structure of a samurai residence.

Walking around the samurai residences in Chiran was a wonderful experience, surrounded by historical charm and beautiful Japanese gardens.

Even just walking around, one can find various tricks in Chiran’s samurai residences. For example, each house has a different stone wall shape. The left side is a hewn stone, the right side is a boulder stone wall, and so on, each of which seems to have its own meaning.

You will also notice that the street is slightly curved. This seems to have been designed to avoid arrows from enemies, showing the wisdom typical of samurai residences.

The inumaki trees planted in the hedges were also planted for a samurai-like reason. The inumaki is a soft tree that enemies cannot climb up, but it is also effective in blocking the view from outside, so it was placed for personal safety.

At the three-way junction of the street is a large rock called “Ishikantou,” which was influenced by Okinawan charms to ward off evil. The influence of Ryukyuan culture can be seen here, as the port of Chiran was once a hub of Ryukyuan trade.

Furthermore, the samurai residences in Chiran have gardens where visitors can enjoy seasonal flowers. In the Sata Naotada Garden, a plum tree is planted in the garden with Mt. In the Ryoichi Hirayama Garden, there is no masonry, but a large cutting of satsuki (Japanese azalea) trees is used as a hilltop garden, taking advantage of Mt. Each garden is designed so that visitors can enjoy beautiful scenery in each season.

There are also items in the samurai residences that offer a glimpse into the life of the samurai. A pool of water called “Tachiarai” was provided to wash swords stained with blood, as a precaution for the safety of the samurai. And the “storm door return,” a famous feature of samurai residences, has no door pouch, and the storm door can be pulled out at the corner to change direction. It was devised to keep enemies out and to allow women to use it while they were away.

The wisdom and ingenuity of the samurai can be seen everywhere in Chiran’s samurai residences, which, along with their historical charm, delight visitors to the area.

Three unique gardens remain in Chiran’s samurai residences. The first is the “Hirayama Katsumi Garden,” which features a beautiful view of Mt. The garden is said to have been created by a gardener from Kyoto and the Ryukyu Islands.

Next, “Sata Tamiko Garden” is built by piling up huge rocks, which were brought from the upper reaches of the Foothill River by oxen and horses. Although it is difficult to see the cracks in the rocks from a distance, the garden was created by detailed manual labor.

The Sata Mishu Garden is the largest and most luxurious garden in the Chiran Buke Yashiki. The masonry arranged around the Kare-Taki waterfall adds to the power of the garden.

In addition, “Saigo Keiichiro Garden” is a beautiful garden also called “Tsurukame no Teien” (garden of cranes and turtles). It is known for its lovely design in which the rocks look like a turtle’s head and the trimmed trees resemble a shell.

In the Chiran Buke Yashiki group, an item called “inome” is popular as a key word for marriage, and it turns out that the heart-shaped water pot was actually built in the shape of an inome. Events are held in connection with these items, and visitors who participate during the festival will receive various products.

The beauty of this beautiful town and its gardens is made possible by the cooperation of local residents who manage them on a daily basis. The beauty of the samurai residences has been maintained thanks to the care taken by the local people. Please visit this town called “Little Kyoto in Satsuma” and feel its beauty and history.